Blue Moon
by aizeus
Summary: A wish and a promise made anew. Will Naruto be able to keep his word to Sakura this time?
1. Prologue

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters are property of Kishimoto Masashi.

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**Prologue**

_Junigatsu Ichinichi (December 1__st_

The pain was so intense.

He tried to remember what was exactly happening… There were two people hovering above him, and their voices… were vaguely familiar. He tried moving his limbs but every fiber of his muscle were screaming in agony. He decided to stop before further damaging his body. He inhaled, but it seemed that even something as mundane as breathing was causing him pain. Why was it so hard to breathe?

"_Is he still alive?"_

He felt fingers touched the side of his neck, feeling for his pulse. He didn't hear any reply. The person who asked continued.

"_He's one lucky bastard."_

A chuckle.

"_Imagine, facing all of them by himself? No wonder the elders wanted him dead. He could cause so much damage to the village… Shall we kill him?"_

"_No."_

The second voice was rich and deep. He opened his eyes, only to see the dark sky littered with stars and the moon above him. He tried to speak, to tell them to get away from him, to leave him alone… but no words came.

"_We also have orders to kill him on sight."_

_So why don't you get on with it?_ he thought with all the hate that he could muster. He closed his eyes. He was tired. He was very tired. If only they would go on with their business so he could finally rest…

"_Don't be an idiot. We are ordered to take him back… alive."_

Another chuckle but this time, it was resigned.

"_Fine." _

He felt strong arms hoisting him up carefully. The cold and damp ground that he thought would serve as his grave left him completely.

"_I do sometimes wonder about the inner workings of that woman's mind. I mean, what does she want from him anyway?"_

He winced when an excruciating pain shot up to his left leg that seemed to reverberate all over his body. He wished that this person with the annoying voice would stop talking. It only made the soreness worst.

"_Man, it would be trouble if those guys caught up with us…"_

A grunt.

"_That is not possible. This guy made sure of that."_

He felt his feet left the ground and the wind whipping his face. It seemed that his companions had finally decided to move. Whatever it was that they wanted from him, he just wished that they'd be quick with it. He didn't care anymore.

After all, the only person who needed him was already dead and the only person that he lived for was killed by his own hands…

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**Author's Note: **My first Naruto fic. Be nice and kindly leave a review, please. No flames allowed, only constructive criticisms. Thanks to Onii-sama for betaing 

Enjoy!


	2. Chapter 1: Surprises

Disclaimer: Naruto doesn't belong to me.

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_**Chapter One: Surprises**_

_Juichigatsu Juichinichi (November 11th)_

There was a bug in his cup.

Sighing, Jiraiya squinted through bleary eyes and frowned. Yep, there was no mistaking it. The bug was definitely staying.

The toad sennin set his sake cup down and eased his back, rubbing his eyes and refocusing them afterwards. The owner of the noodle stand stared at him, raising a brow. "I think that Jiraiya-sama should go home. That bug was giving you a sign."

"Watcha talkin' about?" He snorted, his words a bit slurred. "Are you throwing me out?!"

The storekeeper's eyes widened. Angering one of the legendary Sannin was the last thing on his mind. "Of course not," he quickly replied, flailing his arms to emphasize his words. "I was merely concerned about your welfare."

Jiraiya huffed. He just got back at Konoha from a mission and "gathering_ data"_ but nobody seemed to welcome him. Especially _today._ Even the old hag and that blonde brat had forgotten. Oh well, can't blame them though. He didn't think that anyone knew what today was except for his former student who, unfortunately, died 18 years ago.

Remembering the Yondaime put a smile on his face. Nobody believed that he would be Hokage someday and he proved them all wrong. The look on Orochimaru and Sarutobi's faces back then were priceless. Jiraiya snickered.

And Tsunade… somehow he believed that she had faith in him. He had told her of his dream once and she broke his young heart – one of too many – by laughing and flinging it to his face.

"Do you seriously believe that you would become Hokage?" she had said to him one morning more than forty years ago.

"Of course," he replied with conviction, pounding his chest. "I will be the greatest shinobi in the village someday."

She snorted. "Really? And what are you planning to do once you become one? Make Konoha into a big red light district?"

He was hurt. He never thought that his teammate wouldn't take him seriously. Smiling to hide his dismay, he pretended that he was considering her words, scratching his chin. "Oh, that can be arranged."

Tsunade clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "That's the reason why you would never become Hokage. You never take things seriously."

"Do I?" he asked, laughing with irony.

"Orochimaru is going to be Sarutobi-sensei's successor, that's what I've heard."

"Is he? If that's the case, then I'm glad for him." And then he smiled. A smile that never reached his eyes.

His teammate frowned. "What's with you, going gloomy all of a sudden? Come on, they are probably waiting for us." She got up and dusted herself.

"Right," he replied, following suit and cursing Tsunade for being so goddamned dense.

And so he decided that he would never wanted to become Hokage. As a sign of his retribution, years later, he took a rowdy and unruly kid to be the next greatest shinobi in Konoha instead. By the time his student became the fourth Hokage, Orochimaru went berserk, Sarutobi was slack-jawed with awe, and Tsunade was long gone even before then, gambling away everything.

But she did send him a note one day, telling him basically that she couldn't believe that the world's biggest pervert was the teacher of one of the most talented ninjas that ever lived in Konoha.

And that she was proud of him.

"Thinking perverted thoughts, Jiraiya?"

Still wearing his stupid grin, the toad sennin turned his head, not expecting the subject of his daydreaming to materialize before him. "Well, if isn't the mighty Hokage herself. What do I owe the pleasure of your company?"

Tsunade merely looked and crossed her arms on her chest. "It's almost midnight. What on earth are you still doing here outside?"

"Just killing time, I guess." Lifting the cup to his lips, he then stared at her. "What are YOU doing here? Aren't you supposed to be asleep or something? Old ladies should be in bed, resting."

The Godaime smacked him hard on the head, her brows twitching. "You really are an asshole." She retrieved something from her coat and placed it none too gently on the counter.

Rubbing his head, Jiraiya noticed the package and glanced at her questioningly.

"After just insulting me, I don't think you deserve that," Tsunade said.

Something just tingled inside him and Jiraiya opened his present. _So, she remembered. _"What the hell?" The white-haired man burst out laughing. "Where did you get this?"

"I knew you'd like it," she said with a wry smile, eyeing the statuette of a reclining naked woman in Jiraiya's hand. "I bought it from a traveling merchant in Suna when I had a meeting with the Kazekage last week."

"Hmm," he muttered as he scratched his chin, examining Tsunade's gift. "Don't you think that she kind of resembled you?"

Tsunade's eyes snapped back to his. "What?"

Jiraiya's lecherous grinned widened, giving her a good view of the figurine. "See?"

"There's no way in hell that I looked like _that_," she hollered, glowering at him. "Don't you dare think of anything perverted, you old toad."

"Too late."

Irritated, Tsunade tried to snatch it away but only ended up pressing herself closer to him. To a passerby, one might think that she was even hugging him or worse. Good thing nobody was around.

"Aww, isn't that sweet Sakura-chan? Tsunade obaa-chan and Ero-sennin finally got together."

Or not.

The Hokage immediately ceased her snatching and glared at the _jinchuuriki_. Jiraiya was still sniggering like a demented fool, clutching his precious "Tsunade" statuette.

"Oi, baa-chan. I didn't know you had a date with Ero-sennin," Naruto teased, walking towards them. "He finally convinced you, eh?" He then noticed the thing in his teacher's hand. "What's that?"

"This?" Jiraiya replied, showing it to him. Tsunade rolled her eyes and frowned. "This is the best birthday gift ever."

"A stone carving of baa-chan's naked body? What's so great about that? Aren't you sick of her ugly mug on the mountain already?"

"Naruto," the Hokage bit out dangerously, her restraint fading fast. "If you continue talking about me like that, I swear you'll gonna get hurt. And I told you, that figure isn't me."

The blond pouted. "Fine. Sheesh." He then turned at Jiraiya. "We left something for you in your apartment. I think you'll find them very useful for your next book." Naruto gave him a wink.

Sakura rolled her eyes, shaking her head. How could a vintage naughty magazine be useful to someone who had practically peeped to every _onsen_ and had been to every red light districts all over the world? Granted, it was rare and its publisher had stopped its publishing more than 15 years ago, costing Naruto a great deal of money. Still, she couldn't understand why her teammate chose something so obscene and useless. _What an idiot._

"Kakashi-sensei was drooling when he saw that one," Naruto said with a grin, proud of himself. "He was nearly begging for it but I told him I'll get something similar for him on his birthday."

Jiraiya smiled, touched that his errant protégé actually bought something _special_ for him. "Well, I guess I'm a lucky man."

"Sakura-chan gave me the idea," the blond shinobi added, beaming from ear to ear.

A vein popped in Sakura's head. "You idiot! You made me sound like a pervert!" She lunged for his neck and strangled him.

"Eh…? You… told me to give him… something he really… liked, didn't you?" he managed to wheeze out in between Sakura's violent throttling.

"Judging from the way Naruto describe Kakashi, I have a fair guess that it was akin to that offending book you were bent on writing," Tsunade said, raising her brow at Jiraiya.

His lecherous grin returned. "Oh? Then I guess I should hurry home." He proceeded to stand but the Hokage's firm grip on his shoulder, pushing him down, halted his advances.

"Not so fast. I have something to discuss with you yet. Sakura," she then called out to her apprentice.

"Hai, Tsunade-sama?" Sakura acknowledged, pausing from killing the blond shinobi.

"You two, go home. I'll see in my office tomorrow."

"Of course, sensei."

"Oho, so you really were on a date, huh? You wanted to be alone with Ero-sennin that bad, huh?" Naruto, black and gasping for air, taunted.

"Shut up, brat."

Sakura bowed to her sensei before dragging her unwilling teammate away. Hand on her hips, Tsunade shook her head and sighed, watching the two shinobi disappeared in the darkened street. That _gaki_ was really a handful. How Sakura managed to stay long with him was beyond her.

"Funny how Sakura reminded me of you when you were younger."

She turned her head and cocked an eyebrow. "Funny how Naruto reminded me of you."

Jiraiya chuckled. "He learned from the best."

"The only difference is that he's less perverted than you and he managed to come up with that distasteful jutsu of his." She then took a seat beside him and ordered some sake.

The toad sennin snorted. "Had I discovered Naruto's Oiroke no jutsu back then, Sarutobi would've died earlier from heart attack." He paused, stealing a glance from his teammate not so long ago. "Do you ever wonder what would be like had Orochimaru stayed… or… had Dan survived…?"

Tsunade stiffened at the mention of her lover's name, surprised that Jiraiya mentioned these things that they seldom speak of. Sipping from her cup, she eased her back and stared squarely at him. Ever since she introduced Dan to them, she had felt that the white-haired man had some kind of aversion towards him but she had dismissed it as only her imagination and Jiraiya was really a pain in the ass to begin with. There were some small things, however, that made her think otherwise. She wanted to ask why he was bringing these things up suddenly but instead, she asked, "Do you?"

"Well… not on a daily basis. Sometimes, I can't help but wonder about these things." He chuckled sheepishly. "I think I'm getting old."

She settled her cup on the counter and smiled. "For starters, I would be married and have grandchildren by now had Dan survived that night."

Jiraiya huffed. "You think so? How can you be sure that he wasn't going to replace someone as flat-chested as you? You barely had breasts back then."

Her brow twitched, her hand itching to wipe the smirk off his face. "Really, you are an asshole."

"Thank you."

"There's more to women than breasts, pervert."

"But you must admit that they really do, ah, _stimulate_ one's imagination."

Tsunade threw her hands in the air. "Geez, I can't believe I'm having this discussion with you. You were asking about something serious and then you suddenly jump to something stupid and worthless."

The toad sennin grinned. "Can't help it. I'm born this way," he said.

"Tell me, Jiraiya, why are you bringing these things up all of a sudden?" the Hokage voiced out her question earlier. She could sense that there was something in his mind, troubling him, and as a ninja they were trained to see what's underneath the underneath.

Tsunade's question caught him off guard. "I was just really wondering. I sometimes do these things, you see, especially during my birthday."

"Liar."

"Huh?" he muttered, scratching his head.

"You were thinking about them, weren't you?"

"Them? Them who?"

"Team 7, idiot."

"Oh."

Tsunade sighed. "Don't you realize that like you, I can notice their likeness with us? A kid with a loud mouth who wanted to be acknowledged by everybody, a genius who was in a hurry to have power as much as he can, and a girl who was unsure of her talents… though I couldn't say that I had this undying devotion to Orochimaru, like Sakura had with Sasuke."

Jiraiya chuckled at the analogy. "You forgot something, though."

"And what's that?" she asked, glancing at him.

"A closet pervert for a sensei," he finished with a laugh. "I can't believe you got it right. I just hope Naruto got the courage that I lacked, though."

"Hmm?"

Jiraiya smiled. "Nothing," he replied, pleased that Tsunade was dense sometimes. "I said I hope that Sakura wouldn't be a miserable old hag someday."

The Godaime scowled and smacked him in the head.

"Ow, what was that for?"

Tsunade straightened up. "I believe you have something to report. I didn't walk all the way here just to chat."

"I could've dropped by your office tomorrow."

"Well, I'm here now so tell me what you have discovered."

The toad sennin let out a sigh. "My little birdies told me that _he_ was sighted in a forest 43 kilometers north of Konoha. Though they weren't sure if _he_ were going to make a landing or not."

Furrowing her brows, Tsunade rested her chin on her hand. "I see."

"I'm surprised you didn't know yet. I thought Danzou's ANBU were closely following _him_?"

The Hokage remained silent, thinking.

"He had done it."

Tsunade froze, the sake cup hanging halfway to her lips. She gazed at her former comrade and saw the grave expression on his face. "Are you sure?"

Jiraiya nodded. "The boy did us a great favor by finally finishing him off," he said grimly. "Any plans?"

She settled her cup on the counter. "The brat mustn't know."

"Of course," he agreed. "Who knows what might happen to Konoha if he – "

Tsunade silenced him with a look. She got up and stared at his direction. "I have to go and make some necessary changes."

"Sure," Jiraiya nodded with understanding. "Thanks for this lovely gift."

The Hokage opened her mouth to say something but abruptly closed it afterwards. She just gave him a curt nod before striding towards the mansion.

The toad hermit sighed and stared at the statuette. "I guess it's just you and me now." He grinned before downing another glass of _sake_.

* * *

"You shouldn't be talking that way to Tsunade-sama."

Naruto glanced at his teammate and cringed at the stern look on her face. He scoffed, lifting his nose in the air. "I was just playing with her."

"You knew too well what she can do when she's angry," Sakura admonished. "And being ANBU, she's your superior, for crying out loud! You're the only person I know who had the gall to insult the Hokage."

The blond ninja grinned. "Have you forgotten that I'm the village's most unpredictable ninja?"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "Whatever."

Approaching the door to her apartment, the med-nin stopped and turned. "I'm sorry for bugging you this late. I've forgotten that you'll be leaving for a mission tomorrow. I –"

Naruto shushed her with an embarrassed chuckle. "I told you Sakura-chan, it's fine. I'd walk with you in the dead of the night even if I couldn't move my legs. It wasn't a biggie, really."

"But…"

"If you hadn't woken me up, I could've forgotten to give Ero-sennin his present." He then stared at her with that big grin plastered on his face.

Smiling, Sakura nodded finally. "All right. If you said so."

Shuffling on his feet, Naruto placed his hands on his pockets. "Well then, I guess you should better go inside now." He saw her give him a smile one last time before turning to her heels and opening the door to her place. "Uhm, Sakura-chan?"

The med-nin paused and turned. "Yes?"

"Uhm… er… I…"

"Geez, Naruto. Out with it already."

The blond shinobi snapped with attention. "Right. Uh…" He saw her foot tapping impatiently on the floor. He swallowed nervously, loosening his collar up. "Will you… will you go out with me once I get back from my mission? But… but if you're busy then I guess I'll ask you another time, if you want to, that is…"

Amused at her friend's rambling, Sakura shook her head hopelessly and stood before him. To Naruto's surprise, she kissed him lightly in the cheek and whispered, "Sure. But you'll be paying right?"

His face lit up and all he could manage was a dumb nod.

"It's settled then. Just be careful on your mission, okay?"

Naruto nodded once again and watched with love and admiration as Sakura walked towards her apartment and gently closed the door after her.

The sun shone on his face and then there was this sudden insatiable urge to scream and jump and dance! She said yes!

A relieved chuckle welled up from his chest and before he knew it, he was skipping and doing some backflips that would've made Kiba proud.

"You'll wake the neighbors up, you idiot!" Sakura bellowed from her window. "Now go home before I change my mind."

Naruto grinned and gave her a salute before prancing on his way home.

Sighing, Sakura watched him go and disappear into the darkness. She shook her head, amazed at how Naruto was able to be that happy with just small things. Chuckling to herself, she stifled a yawn and finally closed the window.

_tsuzuku_

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**_Translations:_**

Sennin – hermit

Sannin – literarily means three people

Jinchuuriki – a person with a monster sealed inside

Onsen – hot spring

Gaki – kid or brat

**A/N: **Thanks for reading. Don't forget to leave a review.


	3. Chapter 2: Intrusion

Disclaimer: Naruto and all related characters are property of Masashi Kishimoto.

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_**Chapter Two: Intrusion**_

_Juichigatsu Juninichi (November 12th)_

"Somebody told me that a certain blond and the Hokage's apprentice were on a date last night…"

Sakura rolled her eyes at Ino's teasing remark. She was on her way to the Hokage tower when her best friend caught up with her. She tucked wayward strands of her hair behind an ear and ignored the blonde beside her.

"I even saw the Hokage and Jiraiya-sama having a drink together," Ino continued nonchalantly, keeping her pace with Sakura. "What's the occasion? An unofficial toad and slug holiday of some sort?" She giggled. "If I hadn't seen you kiss Naruto, I'd say it was pure coincidence!"

She stopped, gritting her teeth. "Ino! Will you lower it down a tad? You're catching everybody's attention."

Ino eyed her suspiciously. "What, you don't want everybody to know that you and Naruto are finally an item?"

"Naruto is just my friend," she said defensively. "And it was just a friendly kiss! On the cheeks!"

Ino clucked her tongue disapprovingly. "Life lived in constant denial is not very liberating, you know."

"Whatever," she muttered, continuing her pace. Her friend strolled leisurely beside her.

"So what were you two doing last night?"

"Who's asking?"

"Yamanaka Ino, Sakura's best friend, kunoichi extraordinaire," the blonde replied, batting her eyelashes dramatically.

Sakura sighed, knowing that the blonde wouldn't stop until she got an answer. "I asked him to take a stroll with me since I couldn't sleep."

Ino gushed. "Oh? You're lucky he's still awake."

"No. I woke him up."

"Really?" the blonde shrieked. "You're one helluva lucky girl!"

The med-nin rubbed her temples. "Ino…"

"My, you're really getting dependent on Naruto these days, huh?"

She shrugged her shoulders. "He's really a sweet guy. I'd do the same for him."

Ino then pouted. "I wish I have someone like him, too. If only that lazy bastard would look the other way instead of Suna's direction…"

Sakura chuckled. "Then why don't you tell him yourself?"

"As if I could," the blonde said with sarcasm, frowning. "I'm not his type. He wanted an ordinary, mediocre, average, uncomplicated – "

She rolled her eyes. "Temari-san is anything but ordinary."

Ino looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Who says I'm talking about Shikamaru?"

"To quote one blonde earlier: A life lived in constant denial is not very liberating."

The blonde smiled wryly. "It seems that the Rookie 9 is living a life of constant denial these days."

Sakura stifled a laugh. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"Trust me, Sakura, we are."

She then gave her a devious smile. "How do you know about these things, anyway?"

The blonde laughed. "My dear, it is my job to know remember? I'm a member of Konoha's interrogation unit after all. Come on, fez up. What's the real score? I'm not going to tell anyone."

Of all the Konoha 11, Ino was the only one who volunteered to join the unit under Morino Ibiki. Nobody was brave enough to join her and face the torture specialist. For the life of her, she couldn't understand why Ino chose a more grisly and horrifying job.

She just told her later on that getting into someone else's mind was more fun than being inside someone else's body. And seeing your victim writhe and cower in mental fear was an added bonus. Having mastered the art of torture and interrogation, Ino wasn't that easy to break, either. You wouldn't even able to extract anything from her even if you pound her toe suffering from an ingrown nail with a hammer.

"Forget it. And besides, there's nothing to tell."

The blonde looked craftily at her. "Are you sure?"

"Yes! Now will you please let me do my job?" she exhaled. "Don't you have people to torment other than me?"

Ino chuckled. "Touchy, touchy. Naruto hasn't even left and you're already acting like that. Fine, I'll leave you alone, _little Ms. Forehead_. If there were some developments, I'd be the first one to know, right?"

"Whatever," she muttered. "Ino-_buta_."

With a puff of smoke, the blonde disappeared, leaving a trail of rose petals. Sakura shook her head. Ino really liked being melodramatic and having those flashy stuff. Couldn't she just simply walk away and give those poor street sweepers a break?

After the five-minute trek to the Hokage Tower, Sakura finally reached Tsunade's office. She was about to knock when she heard some screaming inside. Worried for her teacher's safety, she slammed on the door, opening it forcibly, only to find a bored Tsunade and a very pissed-off Naruto in full ANBU regalia.

"Naruto?!" she gasped, shocked to say the least. She then remembered Ino vaguely saying something about Naruto still being here. "Aren't you on a mission?"

"I was, but that old hag called me back and replaced me with that brat!" he barked, pointing an accusing finger at an ANBU member with a surprisingly small stature.

"Be nice, Naruto," the Hokage chastised. "This is going to be his first mission."

Sakura studied the silent ANBU standing in attention in the corner of the room. There was something about him that the medic-nin couldn't put a finger on. She was sure that she knew this guy.

"Don't be such a spoilsport, Naruto-_niichan_," the ANBU spoke, the customary mask hiding his face. Although the voice has matured a lot, there was still a hint of playfulness on it.

"What?" the med-nin exclaimed, turning to her sensei. "You replaced him with Konohamaru?"

"Yeah," the blonde shinobi agreed, glaring through his mask. "It could've been better if it were someone else."

Unfazed, Tsunade sighed. "Will you calm down a bit before I restrain you myself?" she said. "Although he is a lot like you, Konohamaru is one of the most promising shinobis in the village today. In fact, I wouldn't be surprised if he became Hokage before you did."

"Thank you, Hokage-sama," Konohamaru said with a chuckle.

Naruto frowned and lifted off his mask. "Sucking up to this old hag wouldn't make you Hokage, _baka_."

Tsunade rolled her eyes and decided to send the young ANBU off before any potential bloodshed. After a short briefing, Konohamaru left. The Hokage then turned at the sullen ninja.

"Are you done sulking?" she asked, shuffling the papers in front of her. "Because I don't have the time to listen to your whining and empty threats."

The blonde shinobi huffed and crossed his arms on his chest.

The Fifth Hokage stared at Naruto and sighed. "I need you to be in Konoha as much as possible," she said in a no-nonsense tone.

"Why?" Naruto and Sakura asked in unison.

Tsunade leaned forward, resting her chin on the back of her intertwined hands. "Let's just say that there are certain things that needed to be done here and your assistance is required."

Perplexed, the blonde shinobi tilted his head. "I don't get it."

Tsunade laughed. "All the better," she then said, taking advantage of Naruto's stupidity. "As of today, you will no longer be a member of ANBU…"

"_NANI_?!"

"You will resume your regular duties as a Jounin and you will be in charge of a genin team after the Academy graduation in Spring."

"But why?" he asked in a shrill voice, initiating a staring contest with the Hokage.

"Because I said so," Tsunade snapped. "Now, unpack your bags and change into regular clothes or whatever it is that you wear."

Naruto glowered at her before stomping and leaving the office.

The Godaime let out a sigh of relief. "I swear, one of these days, I'm gonna kill that kid." She finally noticed her apprentice gazing at her with a baffled expression. "Sakura, I have a mission for you."

The med-nin stood in attention upon hearing her name. "_Hai_, Tsunade-sama."

"I want you to keep an eye on Naruto, make sure that he won't leave the village."

Sakura hesitated for a moment before nodding at last.

"Find Shizune for me, will you? And tell Kotetsu to fix the door."

"Of course."

Sakura turned to her heels as her teacher lowered her gaze on the tons of paperwork on the table. She shifted on her feet, unsure whether to leave or stay. The sound of splintered wood from the busted door crackling underneath her.

"Yes?" Tsunade asked, lifting her gaze. "Do you need anything?"

It was all the opening she needed.

"May I ask you something, _sensei_?"

The Hokage nodded.

"Why did you recall Naruto's mission and why he isn't allowed to leave Konoha?" Sakura swallowed, dreading to ask the question that she most feared. "He's not in danger, is he?"

Tsunade gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry. His life isn't in danger. I just need him to be here in the village."

The med-nin let out a breath she didn't know she had been holding and smiled. She gave a courteous bow and left.

Tsunade sighed with relief when her apprentice was finally gone. Massaging her temples, she leaned back and frowned.

"You could've just sent them to an errant mission," Jiraiya suddenly said from his perch on the window.

"I was actually considering that option."

The white-haired man chuckled, puffing smoke from his pipe. "You're lucky you were able to find a replacement that fast."

"Sarutobi-sensei's grandson was more than willing to take the mission even on a short notice. He wanted to prove himself fast."

"Your beloved apprentice was pretty worried about Naruto."

Tsunade raised a brow. "It's high time she return that brat's feelings."

"I agree."

"Speaking of which, I'd like to propose something."

Jiraiya glanced at his former teammate and saw a playful gleam in her eyes. "You're bored, aren't you?"

"A little."

The legendary shinobi set his pipe aside and smirked. "All right. What do you have in mind?"

* * *

Scowling and muttering curses directed at the village leader, Naruto kicked a rock on the street, ignoring the indignant scream of a merchant when it landed on his wares. The blonde shinobi threw him an equally indignant glare, silencing him off. 

"Damn that old hag! Who does she think she is?" He frowned and saw another rock littering on the street. Gritting his teeth, he gave the rock one mighty kick and watched it sailed through the air like a flaming rocket. However, panic registered on his face as soon as he realized where it was headed. _Holy sh—_

"Hey, watch out!" He screamed, reaching out his hand, as he struggled to move his feet to warn the young woman in danger. The rock wasn't that big but it could hurt nonetheless because of its fast acceleration. And with his strength, he was sure that it would cause some bleeding.

Naruto stopped dead on his feet, watching in awe, as the woman spun around gracefully – as if she could see what was coming behind her (a feat which she actually possessed) – and dodge the speeding rock with ease. The _jinchuuriki_ sighed with relief.

"N-naruto-kun," Hinata stuttered as soon as she recognized the young man standing not far from her, giving him an awkward smile.

Naruto ran to her, smiling apologetically. "Are you okay? I'm sorry, I wasn't aware that you were there."

The shy Hyuuga shook her head. "I'm fine. I was just startled."

"Sorry 'bout that," he said, grinning at her. The blond shinobi glanced around, noticing Hinata's knapsack. "You're leaving?"

Leave it to Naruto to point out the obvious.

"My team and I are going away on a mission," she replied.

Smiling, he nodded.

"Why are you bugging Hinata-sensei, huh?"

Thinning his lips, Naruto turned around and glared at the newcomer. "What is your problem?"

The kid kicked him in the left shin and then hid behind his sensei's back, sticking out his tongue at the blonde Jounin. Wincing, Naruto bared his fangs as he rubbed his throbbing leg.

"Now, now, Kotaro-kun. That wasn't nice," Hinata admonished softly. "Please apologize to Naruto-kun."

Kotaro stepped forward as Naruto grinned mockingly. Instead of doing what he was told, he pulled his left eyelid down and made a face at the annoyed shinobi before taking off and leaving them behind.

Hinata bowed ruefully. "Please forgive his behavior. He isn't usually like that. I think he's just excited for our mission." She then noticed his clothes. "I-I thought you were going away for a mission?"

Naruto sighed. "Yeah. But Tsunade-obaachan replaced me with some… brat."

"Did Godaime-sama said why?"

"Hell, no! She just gave some stupid excuses about me being needed here in the village."

Hinata shifted on her feet. "Uhm, I guess she has a good reason."

He frowned. "Or she's just high and drunk."

A moment of silence passed by as Hinata continued to squirm and shift on her feet. Naruto studied the Hyuuga heiress before him and wonder why she was always like that ever since they were still _genin_. But come to think it, whenever she wasn't aware that he was near, she acted normal and confident. That was really strange.

He told Kiba once of his observation and the Inuzuka's only reply was a smack on his head and told him that he was dense and ignorant. He scratched his head. He didn't even know what he was being dense and ignorant about. Was there something that he wasn't aware of?

"There! There's that _baka _who's pestering sensei!"

Naruto rolled his eyes. It seemed that the runt had returned and brought some reinforcement.

"Stay away from Hinata-sensei or I will crush you with my genjutsu!" a girl with pigtails threatened at him.

The kyuubi container scoffed. "Genjutsu, huh?"

Hinata was really a nice and sweet person and he didn't know what was running in Tsunade's head when she assigned those obnoxious little brats to her. The Hokage was obviously going senile.

"Come on, Hinata-sensei," a boy with spiky brown hair tugged softly at Hinata's jacket. The boy reminded Naruto of that damn Konohamaru but this one's quiet and calmer than the former.

Hinata patted her student on the head before glancing apologetically at the blonde jounin. "We should be going, Naruto-kun. These kids can hardly wait."

"Yeah, I can see that," he replied. "Well then, good luck on your mission and be careful, all right?"

Hinata nodded, blushing all the while. She waved at him before ushering her students towards the village gate. Naruto waved at them and then noticed the boy who was the spitting image of Konohamaru stopping and then running towards him.

Raising a brow, he stared at the kid who seemed to be sizing him up, standing before him. "Do you need anything?" he asked. To his surprise, the boy kicked him in the right shin before making a quick escape

"For the love of…!" Naruto bent over and gritted his teeth, massaging his injured leg yet again. For a little runt, he sure could pack a punch or rather, a kick.

"Hinata-san's team was quite a handful eh? Ah, the springtime of youth…"

Naruto looked up and all that he could see was green. Sighing, he got up and readjusted his _hitaiate_. "Tell me about it."

Lee chuckled as he watched the three genin laughed when they were being reprimanded by their sensei. A moment later, Hinata joined in their laughter. "They were the nicest of the bunch, if you ask me."

"What? You must be joking!" the blond spluttered.

"If you knew my students, you would understand," the taijutsu master said instead, referring to the children he was instructing at the academy with hand-to-hand combat.

Naruto raised a brow. Students from the academy were understandably rowdy and undisciplined, being children and all that. But comparing Hinata's genin team to the children in Konoha Academy was downright absurd. Those brats were spawns of hell! Only someone like Hinata could stand those little imps.

Lee continued. "It seems that they feel some kind of competition for their sensei's attention."

Confused, Naruto scratched his head. "Why would they feel that?"

The spandex-clad shinobi sighed wearily, giving him a withering glance. "Naruto-kun, don't you notice anything about Hinata-san?"

"Nothing in particular. Well, except that she looked red and felt hot as if she had a fever or something."

Lee's thick brow twitched. He cleared his throat, composing himself. "Did Hinata-san tell you anything?"

Naruto shook his head.

"If that's the case, then I'm not in the position to tell you."

The blonde shinobi frowned. "That's it?"

Lee nodded, giving him a thumbs-up and that hair-raising patented grin of his. Without a word, Naruto turned his back and started walking, thinking of what to have for lunch: pork miso ramen or beef miso ramen.

Confused, Lee scratched his head and stared at Naruto's retreating form.

* * *

_Juichigatsu Jugonichi (November 15th)_

"_My mission is unfinished…get out of my way."_

The blankets flew as Naruto shot up from his position on the bed. He gasped for air as he put a hand on his chest in an attempt to control the frantic thundering of his heart. He calmed a little bit after taking in the familiar surrounding of his room and the moonlight filtering through the blinds.

He got up and went to the bathroom. Splashing his face with cold water, Naruto stared at his reflection at the mirror. It has been almost three years since that fateful day. Both he and Sakura had led normal lives since then but there were certain things that wouldn't go away no matter how much you pretend and wish for it to disappear.

Suddenly, the sound of his window sliding open was heard. Naruto tilted his head and decided to head out. There is only one person he knew that would come to him at this hour of the night. Flipping the lights open, Naruto chuckled as he watched as his friend sneaked inside.

"You know, you could use the door," he said with a grin.

Sakura rolled her eyes as she swung one leg. "How would I know that you were awake?"

"Good point. Can't sleep?"

"Yeah," she replied, making herself comfortable on the floor.

"This is becoming more and more of a habit, isn't it?"

Sakura laughed softly. "I'm afraid it is. Do you have a problem with that?"

"Of course not. You know that you can always count on me."

"In that case, will you be a darling and turn off the lights for me? Somebody might see and get the wrong idea."

Naruto sighed and did as he was told. Sakura had no qualms about dropping by at his apartment at night unannounced but she was worried that someone might get the wrong idea? Is he that repulsive that she wouldn't want anybody to get the wrong idea with their relationship?

Noticing his sudden silence, Sakura got up and moved slowly to his side, the light of the moon illuminating her path. She placed a hand on his forehead and she felt him flinched at her touch. Worriedly, she asked, "What's the matter?"

Overwhelmed by her proximity, Naruto swallowed hard and let out a nervous laugh. "It's nothing, Sakura-chan. I'm just a bit sleepy."

"I thought you were sick or something," she said with relief, retrieving her hand. She took a step away from him and sat on his bed. "So, why were you still up?"

"No reason in particular," he replied, dragging a chair across the floor and sitting opposite her. After all, he didn't have the gall to sit so close beside her.

"You were having a nightmare, weren't you?"

He sighed. "Sakura-chan, don't you think it's odd we're sitting here and talking in the dark?"

"No," she answered plaintively. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Do I want to talk about what?" He heard her sigh.

"This nightmare of yours, what else? You know it would really help."

"Not really."

Silence. The sound of the ticking clock on the wall echoed throughout the whole room.

"Do you want to go and get some ramen?" Sakura asked afterwards.

Naruto's face brighten up. "I was hoping you'd say that."

The trip to the noodle stand was uneventful as Naruto trailed behind the med-nin, recollecting bits and pieces of his dream. Sakura walked in silence, trying to figure out the blonde's sudden odd behavior. She figured that it had something to do with the fact that he was still awake when she arrived at his apartment. Naruto had always been an early-sleeper... but always a late-riser. Sakura chuckled at the irony.

Naruto raised a brow, hearing her laugh out of the blue. He quickened his pace. "What's so funny?" he asked when he caught up with her. He saw her smiled, shaking her head. He shot her a dubious look and she just laughed even more. They rounded a corner and the noodle stand finally came to view.

"Come on, Naruto. I'm kinda hungry," Sakura said, grabbing his hand and dragging him all the way.

The blonde sat himself in a stool when they reached the place. This particular noodle stand (whom Naruto dubbed as Ichiraku No. 2) opened up a year ago, the owner a distant relative of old man Ichiraku. Although the ramen do not taste as good, the owner was a kind fellow, always regaling them with amusing stories from places that he had been. Besides, Ichiraku Ramen wasn't open during these hours and Naruto would have ramen whenever and wherever he wanted.

The two placed their order and moments later, two steaming bowls of ramen were placed before them. Naruto dug in after the customary saying of _itadakimasu_.

Absentmindedly, Sakura stirred her ramen, the rich aroma of the broth tickling her nose. She wondered, for a moment, what their former comrade was doing. Was Sasuke able to accomplish his lifelong dream of vengeance? Did he even regret making that decision to leave them for the second time? Was it even worth it?

"Aren't you hungry?" Naruto asked in between chewing and swallowing his food, noticing that Sakura hasn't taken a single bite.

Startled, she glanced at her blonde companion and smiled. He was always there for her even though she took him for granted sometimes. But with him, no matter how sad or angry she was, everything seemed all right. "Sorry, I was just thinking a bit." Slowly, she started eating.

"Thinking of what?"

Sakura paused. "Nothing really. Just some random stuff."

"Oh, okay." He continued to eat in silence, eyeing his teammate carefully. "Uh, Sakura-chan?"

"Hmm?"

"About that date…"

Sakura threw him a glance. "Isn't this considered a date?"

Naruto smiled sheepishly, scratching his head. "Well, eating ramen doesn't really exactly fall under the 'date category,' you know."

The med-nin stared at him craftily. "Oh? Is that so?" she asked. "So, what then is considered as a date?"

"_Eeto_…" Naruto fiddled with his chopsticks, wracking his brain for an appropriate answer. "Uhm… I guess watching a movie together would be considered as a date…"

"Uh-huh," Sakura agreed, nodding her head. "And?"

"And… dining in a restaurant."

"Dining in a restaurant," she repeated. "Very good, Naruto."

He nodded absentmindedly. _What is she getting at?_ "Sakura-chan, about that date – "

"So, this isn't a date?"

Again, he nodded.

"Do you remember what you said exactly when you asked me out the other night?"

Naruto paused, tapping his chin. "Well, I asked if you want to go out with me after I finish my mission."

"Riiight." Sakura laughed. "Now, did you go out on a mission?"

Naruto's face fell. "Sakura-chan…," he whimpered.

The blond shinobi frowned as the med-nin continued to tease him with her laughter. There was really something that he wanted to tell her that's why he asked her so many times to go out with him. Although she said yes on some occasions, their busy schedules wouldn't permit them to meet. Often times, she would twist his words and make it appear that he hadn't ask her at all, or she would present some technicalities that would eventually end with Sakura laughing and him sniveling like an idiot. Just like now.

As ninjas, they had learned to seize the moment as they come for they all live in a borrowed time. They may end up injured beyond repair, or worst, dead. However opportune the moment, he couldn't picture himself saying those three big words to her in front of a greasy noodle stand with an old man watching. He often dreamt of that moment in a nice fancy restaurant or during the sunset with nice smelling flowers and beautiful music. Definitely not in a noodle stand.

But if he didn't say it now, it felt like he'd explode into a million pieces.

"Sakura-chan," he forced out of his mouth, feeling a bit courageous.

Sakura glanced at him with inquiry. "Yes?"

Naruto opened his mouth to say something but closed it abruptly. How would she take it? Maybe she'd get mad. Maybe she wouldn't. How would she react? What would happen to him if he got rejected? How could he face her then? Would it be better if they just stayed the same? These thoughts ran rampant in the _jinchuuriki's _mind.

The med-nin sighed. "Naruto, do not disturb me if you're not going to say anything. I'm trying to eat."

He scratched his head. "S-sorry."

Sakura shook her head hopelessly, resuming her meal.

"Sakura-chan?"

"Now what?" she snapped, irritated.

"I… I…"

She raised a brow. "Hurry up. My ramen's getting cold."

Naruto swallowed hard. "I… I think I'm in – "

"Yo!"

Somebody suddenly appeared out of thin air and Naruto fell from his seat. His timing could've been more perfect.

"Kakashi-sensei!" Sakura gasped.

The silver-haired _jounin_ smiled through his mask. "Nice to see you, kids."

Frustrated, Naruto screamed and tore at his hair.

"Aaaargh!!! For the love of _Kami-sama_!"

Kakashi scratched his head. "Am I… interrupting something?" he asked, his exposed eye crinkling with uncertainty.

_tsuzuku_

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Another chapter finished! Hope you like it. Kindly leave a review and let me know what you think. Till next time! 


	4. Chapter 3: Caught

_**Chapter Three: Caught**_

_Juichigatsu Jurokunichi (November 16__th)_

Teuchi looked at his number one customer as he drained another batch of cooked noodles from the steaming pot of water. He was very grateful that, throughout the years, Naruto was keeping his business alive. Other than the blond ninja, he never knew anyone who loved ramen more than the boy did. However, something was up today. The boy didn't look like he was himself.

"Why the long face, Naruto?" he asked, pausing from his task, his sieve hung in mid-air.

Naruto glanced up, his face creased like a crumpled paper. "Did you ever have a problem with your wife?"

The blonde's question caught him off guard. He grinned. So it was girl-problem. "Well, it is normal for a relationship to have problems."

"No, not that kind of problem," the boy said, waving his hand. "I mean, how did you… how…"

"How did I tell my wife I love her?" the old man finished for him.

Naruto nodded, rubbing the back of his neck awkwardly. "Y-yeah."

The owner of Ichiraku Ramen chuckled. "All this time you never told Sakura-chan you were in love with her?" He shook his head with disbelief. "And to think you were the village's loudest ninja…"

The blonde's face turned crimson.

"My boy," he replied. "There is no really easy way to say it. I, myself, was a nervous wreck back then."

"So how did you say it?"

The old man tilted his head. "I don't exactly remember the details but it was more of fate intervening."

Naruto nodded encouragingly, urging him to press on. "And?"

"Do you really want to hear the rest?" he asked, cocking an eyebrow, unable to believe that someone would actually take interest in an old man's rambling.

"Sure," he replied earnestly, but stopped and thought for a moment. "Well, not really."

Teuchi smiled. "I thought so. You'll have your time someday, Naruto. Until then, just try to be patient." He then saw someone approaching. "Why don't you ask Jiraiya-sama for some tips?"

Naruto turned his head and saw his teacher lifting the curtain flaps of the eatery. "I think there will be more trouble if I ask him."

The toad hermit entered and shook his head upon seeing the blonde shinobi. "I can't believe you're eating ramen again." He took a seat beside Naruto and noticed his sad pathetic state. "This is a very nice day to be wasted away by sulking and moping around."

Naruto sighed, pouting. "You wouldn't understand," he said. "How long would it take before I'd be reinstated in ANBU? Tsunade-obaachan was sure having a grand day making my life miserable."

Jiraiya chuckled but remained silent.

"She spoke as if I'm _badly _needed here but the missions I got consist of tasks that could be done by a mere _genin_!" He flailed his arms for emphasis. "And what's with Kakashi-sensei, sticking his nose in where it didn't belong? I could've made my move if it weren't for that closet pervert."

"Kakashi?" he asked, tilting his head.

Naruto huffed, crossing his arms on his chest.

Sighing, Jiraiya got up and beckoned him to follow. "Come on, Naruto. Let's take a walk. I'm going to teach you something."

"You mean like a new technique?" The blonde's face came to life.

"Well," he drawled out. "You could say that."

"Y_oshi!_" Naruto bounced off the chair. He placed some bills on the counter and then grinned at his teacher. "Let's go, Ero-sennin!"

The toad hermit rolled his eyes. "How many times do I have to tell you, don't call me Ero-sennin," he complained, lifting the curtain flaps, as he took a step outside.

"Hai, hai." Naruto replied and nodded, following his sensei. "Whatever you say… Ero-sennin."

Jiraiya threw his hands in defeat. "Brat."

Teuchi smiled as he watched the duo left. Naruto really had come a long way. And even though the toad hermit wasn't the perfect teacher, the blonde shinobi definitely learned a lot from him.

* * *

_What was he going to say?_

Clutching a wooden clipboard on one hand, Sakura hurriedly clambered to her feet after noticing that her _sensei_ was already seven paces ahead of her. Tsunade suddenly stopped, examining the next patient on the bed, and if the young med-nin hadn't been looking, she would've smacked hard to her teacher's back. The Hokage turned and threw her an amused gaze before proceeding to the next patient, her heels making a rhythmic sound on the floor

Idly, she followed.

_Kakashi-sensei really had bad timing. Now I wasn't able to hear what that baka was going to say. If only Sensei had arrived later…Grrr, I don't like this. Naruto's making me think! And I don't like thinking especially when it concerned him!_

"Sakura."

She lifted her gaze, vaguely aware of someone calling her. Barely having the time to stop her feet from moving, she braced herself before colliding to Tsunade. Landing flat on her behind, she looked up and the Hokage's ample bosom loomed before her.

Tsunade shook her head disapprovingly. "You should be paying more attention, Sakura," she said as she helped her up.

"I apologize, Tsunade-_shishou_," she mumbled meekly, blushing to the roots of her hair. "I promise it won't happen again. I was just slightly… _preoccupied_."

The Hokage arched an elegant brow. "Oh? I suppose it has nothing to do with your midnight excursions with Naruto?"

"_Anoo_…" Sakura shifted uncomfortably on her feet.

Tsunade rolled her dark amber eyes. "It's all right, I understand," she said with a mischievous grin. "I just wasn't aware that you two _finally_ have that kind of relationship. Just don't let if get in the way of your duty."

Mortified, the med-nin gaped at her sensei. "No, you're mistaken, Tsunade-sama!" Sakura spluttered defensively, shaking her head with vigor. "We are not having that _kind_ of relationship!"

Tsunade sighed with disappointment. "Just when I thought I was about to win…"

"To win?" Sakura repeated, furrowing her brows.

"Oh it was nothing," the Hokage said, laughing nervously. She cleared her throat and fixed her apprentice with a stare. "Why don't you go and check up on Naruto? He could use some cheering up after his recent _demotion_."

Sakura stared back at her sensei, her mouth hanging open. The Hokage was letting her leave early? Is the world coming to an end? "But _Shishou_, we still have lots to—"

Tsunade silenced her with a dismissive wave of her hand. "Just go. We're almost done here anyway."

Puzzled, Sakura nodded her head and decided not to question the older woman further. It seemed that the Hokage had more pressing matters in mind and lately, she was somewhat distant.

"Tsunade-sama!" Shizune exclaimed when she entered hurriedly through the door all of a sudden.

The legendary med-nin narrowed her eyes as she watched her first apprentice stopped short of plowing into the pink-haired kunoichi in her haste to get to her. Shizune bent over, one hand on her knee, trying to catch her breath.

"Urgent… news… from Kiba-kun and Shino-kun," Shizune gasped as she handed a small note to her mistress.

Wide-eyed, Sakura stared at the newcomer. She hasn't heard from the two aforementioned names since five months ago. Being ANBU, nobody knew for sure what the nature of their mission was, even their former teammate Hinata. All she knew, from what Naruto had told her, that it was a highly sensitive one – commissioned by the Hokage herself.

Tsunade's face turned grim after reading the small note. "Sakura," she called out. "If you ever come across with the old pervert, tell him he's needed in my office. And it's urgent."

"You mean Jiraiya-sama?" the med-nin clarified for good measure.

"Yes," she replied. "You can go now."

Reluctantly, Sakura left the hospital. Something was amiss. Inasmuch as she wanted to stay and _learn more_ about the note, her sensei had already dismissed her. It meant that whatever they would discuss, it wasn't meant for her ears.

As soon as her student had left, Tsunade folded the note and tucked it inside her coat for safekeeping, sighing wearily. God, she needed a drink.

"Tsunade-sama?" Shizune asked anxiously.

"Find me a bottle of sake," she clipped with authority. "Fast!"

Shizune gulped and complied. She didn't have a choice anyway.

* * *

"Hitting on girls was hardly a new technique." 

Jiraiya grinned, scratching his head sheepishly as he glanced at his glowering student. He straightened up and crossed his arms on his chest. "I'm teaching you how to become a man, boy. How would you confess to Sakura-chan if you didn't even know how to properly say it?"

Naruto raised a golden brow. "You knew about that?"

The toad hermit chuckled. "Everybody knows everything in Konoha!"

Dubiously, the blond frowned. "How would you teach me something that you sucked at?" he asked. "I'm sure it would do more harm than good."

"Don't underestimate the charm of the legendary Jiraiya-sama!" the older man bellowed to Naruto's ear, clutching his collar. He released the boy none too gently and leveled him with a stare.

"Geez," Naruto grunted, fiddling with his ear. "You didn't have to shout."

Jiraiya snorted. "I'll have you know, girls were clamoring for my attention when I was your age," he boasted, pounding on his chest. "Girls all over the village were always chasing after me."

"Oh, I bet they were," the blond shinobi said with a wry chuckle._ Because they wanted to kill you, that's for sure._

"But then there was this special girl—" Jiraiya caught himself in mid-sentence.

Naruto glanced at his teacher. "What, you actually managed to snag someone?"

The toad hermit remained silent. A thoughtful look on his face. He gave his errant student a genuine smile. "That's why words are important, Naruto. You shouldn't waste every opportunity you had."

"Eh?" He raised a brow. It wasn't everyday that his perverted _sensei_ share something so serious. "Did that special girl died or something?"

Jiraiya sighed. He proceeded to walk as the blonde shinobi followed leisurely.

"Nee, Ero-sennin, what happened to the girl?"

He stopped and stared at the setting sun in the horizon. "She didn't die. In fact, she turned out to be one of the greatest persons alive."

"So what happened?"

Jiraiya shrugged his shoulders. "Well… I was about to confess my feelings for her but someone beat me into it."

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Loser," he whispered under his breath. "But you didn't know for sure what her answer would be, did you?"

"Actually, I did. The girl was a friend and she used to ramble on and on about how being '_kakkoi'_ that guy was." The hermit's brow twitched at the last statement. "Come to think of it, I don't even know if it was worth it. She was violent, short-tempered, and a gambler to boot! Damn that woman."

The blonde ninja paused, thinking. "Do I know her?" he asked with suspicion.

The teacher shook his head with a laugh. "No. She's probably dead by now… or have lots of grandchildren…" He glanced at the boy beside him. "During those days, she was one of the greatest healers in the village."

"She was a med-nin? Just like Baa-chan?"

"Yeah," he replied with a laugh. "Just like her."

Naruto scratched his chin. "How many med-nins in Konoha are there who love to gamble besides Baa-chan?" he asked, perplexed. "Don't you think it's kinda odd that two people with the same exact traits existed at the same time? And she's also your friend. It's like you were in love with Tsunade-obaachan's _bunshin_."

"I didn't say that she was from Konoha, now did I?" Jiraiya countered defensively. "Besides, there was a war and we didn't have some forms of entertainment that much. They like to gamble everything away for they might die any second. They like the high that winning brings."

The _jinchuuriki_ raised his brow as if he weren't buying his story. "So basically, you wanted me _not_ to commit the same mistake that you did?" he then asked, dropping the subject finally.

"You could say that." Jiraiya replied with a grin. "Think of this as a form of a… _community service_."

The blonde shot him a dirty look. "Community service, my ass. Thanks but no. I'm 18, I know what I'm doing."

The toad hermit crossed his arms on his chest. "Really?" he asked with a raised brow. "If that's the case then show me what you know."

"What?"

"Go on. Show me what you can do." Jiraiya scanned the place for a suitable guinea pig. After spotting an attractive woman standing nearby, he grinned at his student and pointed her to him. "Ask that nice lady to a date."

Naruto followed the direction of his teacher's finger and pouted. "Why?"

"Because I said so."

"Geez, you're like Baa-chan! Whenever I asked why, she would say those exact same words!"

Jiraiya scoffed. "Don't tell me you are afraid," he said mockingly. "I thought the great Uzumaki Naruto isn't afraid of anything?"

"I'm not!" he replied vehemently

"Then prove it."

Naruto glared at his pervert _sensei's_ impudent grin. He took a hesitant step forward… and stopped. "But I don't want to!"

"Stop whining like a kid, Naruto. It's just a girl," the hermit said.

"I'm not whining!" he growled.

Jiraiya shook his head and sighed hopelessly.

"What good would it bring, anyway?" he asked with defiance. "And besides, she's not Sakura-chan. Sakura-chan's waaaaay prettier than her. And she's intelligent, and brave, and has nice legs, and—"

"She's not Sakura-chan, she's prettier, she has nice legs…" Jiraiya mimicked exasperatedly. "Well, pretend that she is Sakura-chan, for goodness sake!" He gave his student a gentle push. "Do it."

Naruto glared at him but the toad hermit smiled instead. Jiraiya nodded at the girl's general direction and wiggled his brows suggestively. His student stood ground with resistance. The _sennin_ sighed.

"Think of this as practice," the legendary shinobi said after a long bout of silence. "If you could ask her on a date then a confession to Sakura-chan would be a cinch."

That did it. That seemed to be the magic words. Jiraiya almost laughed out loud when he saw the crack on Naruto's defense.

"R-really?" the blond asked with uncertainty, his blue eyes hopeful.

He chuckled. "Yes. Now go before that lovely girl decided to leave."

Jiraiya laughed to himself as he watched his apprentice finally obeyed his command. Naruto seemed a bit nervous as he made his way towards the girl. The boy had matured a lot both mentally and physically. He was no longer that loud and obnoxious brat who used to pull pranks and caused trouble just to earn everyone's attention. Although there were some mischiefs here and there, they weren't big enough like that of redecorating the Hokage Monument. Tsunade would surely have the boy's head if Naruto even dare try to approach the mountain with a paint bucket.

As the years went on, Naruto did earn everyone's attention, particularly the opposite sex. Being a powerful and skillful ninja, it was hard to remain unnoticed. Especially when you have the looks to go with it. The blonde didn't seem to notice, and being clueless as ever, Naruto just dismissed the girls' flirtatious glances and advances. For him, only one girl's attention and approval mattered.

The toad _sennin_ smiled with pride.

"I've told you Orochimaru, I don't need a genius." Jiraiya lit his pipe and puffed, gazing at the smoke he created, mesmerized.

* * *

Strolling leisurely along the streets of Konoha, Sakura searched the crowd for any sign of the toad hermit or her loud teammate. The sun had begun to set, casting the whole village with an orange glow, and the pink-haired kunoichi sighed to herself. _Where those two could possibly be?_

She had practically searched everywhere, even at the Yamanaka's flower shop where she often chose not to visit ever since Ino started teasing her with Naruto. To her surprise (and relief), her best friend wasn't there, probably checking out the new women's magazine at the bookstore or hanging out with Sarutobi Kurenai-sensei.

"Oi, Sakura!"

Sakura turned her head after hearing her name and saw Chouji drawing closer to her, munching on his chips as usual. She giggled. Some old habits die really hard.

"Hey Chouji," she greeted when he caught up with her.

The enormous shinobi smiled before digging at his chips. "Strange."

"What is?" Sakura asked, giving him a brief glance.

"Naruto's not with you," he answered simply.

She laughed. "That's strange?"

"Yep," Chouji replied with a nod. "You two were like glue, always stuck with each other whenever in the village."

"Uh-huh," she deadpanned. "So where's Ino, anyway?"

"Shikamaru had just returned and Ino was busy fussing over him. I left them alone together." He chuckled mischievously. "And I could tell that Shika wasn't happy about it."

Sakura slapped him playfully on the arm. "You're so bad."

He just laughed, and then munched on his chips. "By the way, if you were looking for Naruto, I just saw him near the waterways with Jiraiya-sama. I think he was teaching him some sort of a new _jutsu_ that involves women."

The kunoichi blinked. "Women?"

Chouji nodded nonchalantly. "Yeah." He chuckled. He stopped short suddenly when he took hold of Sakura burning with rage. "Eh? Sakura… Are you all right?"

_Shannaro! That damn Naruto! What does he think he's doing?!_ Inner Sakura slammed her fist repeatedly on her palm. Chouji tilted his head as he eyed his comrade with mix horror and amusement. She seemed really affected by this small news.

"Sakura?" the big shinobi spoke up, tapping her on the shoulder. The pink-haired kunoichi looked up at him, regaining equanimity. Chouji grinned cheerfully.

"I'm sorry… just spaced out a little," she said, giving him an awkward smile. "Are you sure he's with Jiraiya-sama?"

Chouji nodded brightly. "Yeah. And they are learning this new _jutsu_ with _women_."

Sakura's brow twitched. "I heard you the first time, Chouji. You really don't have to repeat it."

"Sorry," he said half-heartedly. "I could take you to them, if you'd like me to. Who knows, Naruto might need someone to bring him to the hospital." Chouji laughed and winked at her.

The med-nin rolled her eyes in mock amusement before letting the big shinobi lead the way.

* * *

"So, you were Jiraiya-sama's apprentice?" 

"Hai, that I was, _nee-san_." Naruto replied as he loosened his collar a bit, feeling an imaginary noose tightening on his neck. He cautiously wiped the bead of perspiration on his temple and smiled timidly.

The woman giggled and playfully patted his head. "My, you are so shy. You don't have to call me _onee-san_. Shiori will do."

"A-all right then, Shiori… _san_."

Shiori nodded and smiled. "So what can I do for you, Naruto-san?"

The blonde jounin subconsciously fiddled with his fingers. "Uhm, you see…" He glanced at Jiraiya's direction and the old hermit just gave him an encouraging thumbs-up. Naruto grimaced, then sighed. "You see, I need someone to uh… accompany –"

"You mean with Jiraiya-sama…?"

Naruto's eyes widened. Forcefully, he shook his head. "No, no. Not with that old pervert… Uh, _nee-san_, I just need you to go out with me."

Shiori squealed with delight. "You're asking me out? You're so _kawaii_!" She hooked her arms on the back of Naruto's neck and pulled him towards her hefty chest. "I always wanted to go out with you, Naruto-san! This is so great! I can't wait to tell my friends about it!"

"Hey, hold on… _Nee-san_!" Naruto squirmed and flailed his arms frantically, struggling to get loose from the woman's death grip. "I can't breathe!" he choked out, his words muffled by Shiori's bosom.

Jiraiya was practically laughing his lungs out from where he stood. He didn't know that Shiori could be _that_ amorous. "My, my. My new Icha Icha series could use some scene like that." He pulled out a small notebook and, licking his lips, began scribbling. "Hmm, a naïve good-looking jounin died of asphyxiation from a big-breasted beauty..."

The toad _sennin_ continued to write on his notes with a maniacal laugh until a pink tuff of hair caught his view. "_Shimatta_!" he muttered as he scrambled to hide his notebook and warn his poor apprentice of impending doom.

"Oi, _nee-san…_" Naruto called out as he tried to pry her arms off him but to no avail. He sighed and stopped struggling. "This won't look good if somebody sees us."

"Oh, I don't care," Shiori said, tightening her hold. She paused for a while, cautiously lifting her brow. "What are you worrying about? You don't have a girlfriend, do you?"

_Well, now that she mentioned it…_

"Uhm, technically I don't but…"

"NARUTOOOO…."

A shiver ran down his spine at the sound of that _voice_. _God, anyone but her! _Slowly, he turned his head and almost died on the spot.

Sakura was literally fuming and advancing on him like a raging bull. The homicidal look on her face would surely petrify even the most vicious ninja alive. Naruto freed himself from Shiori's grasp, torn between begging and making a quick escape for his life.

Experience taught him, however, that no matter what he chose, he would always end up on the loser's end. It was better to suck it up and take it as a man. At least, he would die with a little dignity.

"It wasn't like you think, Sakura-chan…"

But his Sakura-chan wasn't listening. He saw her crack her knuckles and took a step... and another… and another…

The last few things Naruto remembered before losing consciousness were Sakura's fist connecting with his jaw and him flying towards the Hokage monument at the speed of light.

_tsuzuku_

* * *

**Translations:  
**Shishou – teacher  
Kakkoi – cool  
Bunshin – clone  
Shimatta – damn it  
Onee-san – big sister  
Kawaii – cute  
Sennin – hermit  
Jutsu – technique

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for reviewing the previous chapter! Sorry, this took long to come out. I've been busy with my job lately. Hope you like this one. Please review and let me know what you think:D 


	5. Chapter 4: Counterpoint

_**Chapter Four: Counterpoint**_

_Juichigatsu Jurokunichi (November 16__th)  
__Evening_

"I told you, Naruto might need someone to bring him to the hospital."

Sakura rolled her eyes at Chouji before infusing her hand with green chakra to heal Naruto's massively-broken jaw that she herself created. She felt the blonde jounin squirmed at the contact, shaking her head.

"Don't be such a baby, Naruto," she said.

The blond ninja merely grunted and sat still. After all, he couldn't even complain even if he wanted to. A slight movement of his face would trigger a tremendous pain of mind-numbing proportions. Sakura-chan was really scary when she was very, very pissed off.

"I guess that teaches you, Naruto, not to flirt with women when Sakura's around," Chouji said with an amused chuckle. "Try not to get caught next time, ne?" He tapped his comrade's shoulder, giving him a wink.

Naruto rolled his eyes in reply.

"I guess I should be going," the enormous shinobi continued. "I'm kind of getting hungry myself. See you around, you two." He started for the door, leaving the two by themselves.

"What on earth were you thinking, you idiot?" Sakura snapped as soon as she heard the door closed.

Naruto cringed as he tried to move his mouth. Thanks to the kyuubi's chakra, the pain on his jaw was starting to dissipate. "That damn Ero-sennin forced me to ask that _nee-chan_ on a date," he replied and winced when the med-nin turned his face none too gently. "That hurts, you know."

Sakura straightened up and crossed her arms on her chest. "Really?" she asked with a raised brow. "Well that's good, considering that, that thing inside you wouldn't let me do some heavy body damage." She rolled her eyes as the blond jounin pouted. "You are really an idiot. Why do you always take Jiraiya-sama so seriously? What if he told you to jump off a cliff? Would you jump?"

"Well that depends," he replied with a grin, the throbbing of his face completely forgotten. "Do you remember that time when I hugged you when we were twelve?"

She paused and pondered for a moment. Arching her brow, she asked, "Don' tell me Jiraiya-sama told you to?"

"He told me it was part of the training," he simply said.

Sakura sighed. "You know, Naruto, sometimes you're too gullible for your own good," she said with a light frown, shaking his head. She gently brushed her fingertips on the side of his face and felt his breath hitched. "What's the matter? Does it still hurt?"

Naruto hastily shook his head and gave her a sheepish grin. "N-no. It was just that I… felt kind of nervous when you were touching me like that."

The pink-haired kunoichi stared at Naruto's blue eyes and laughed. "What, are you afraid that I might break your jaw again?"

The blond jounin just stared equally at her and Sakura felt herself drown in those cerulean orbs. There was something deep and unfathomable in his eyes, yearning to be set free. And it felt like she could almost touch it. The med-nin averted her gaze, afraid of the unknown feeling stirring inside her. _What the hell is happening to me? It's just Naruto, for Kami's sake!_

"Uhm, anyway," she continued, clearing her throat. "Your jaw should be healed by now." She took a few steps backwards to give him space.

"Gee, thanks," Naruto said as he got up from the stool. "_Anooo…_ Sakura-chan?"

The pink-haired kunoichi turned her head. "Hmm?"

Naruto readjusted his _hitaiate_, shuffling unconsciously on his feet. "Why did you have to pummel me like that? It wasn't like you were jealous or something… right?"

Sakura's mouth fell open. "What?" She gave her head a hard shake and glared at the blond. "Are you insane? Why would I be jealous?"

"That's why I said 'it wasn't like you were jealous,'" the blond repeated nonchalantly, shrugging his shoulders.

The med-nin frowned. "I hit you because I was saving the girl, not because I'm _jealous_."

Naruto chuckled and gave her a smile. "Okay."

"So, do you still require some medical assistance?" she asked with mild irritation. "If not, I'll be going now to look for Jiraiya-sama." She turned to her heels but Naruto caught her wrist.

"Actually, I –"

Sakura tilted her head, waiting. Her eyes caught sight of his hand and she marveled at how big it was compared to hers and yet, how gentle it was. Naruto had always wanted his hands to be rough, calloused, and he greatly envied the bumps and hardened skin on Lee's knuckles for they signify a true ninja. But being kyuubi's vessel, no amount of wishing would make that happen. Blisters and wounds on his hands would heal even before they started forming. Idly, Sakura wondered how those hands would feel like on her skin, his soft and warm touch grazing the side of her neck, her cheeks, her lips…

Naruto cleared his throat, snapping her back from her reverie. She brought her attention back to his face and chastised herself for letting her thoughts stray _that far_.

The blond continued. "I…I've been wanting to tell you… for sometime that I…" His voice faltered. "That I…"

Sakura felt her heart skipped a beat. "W-wanting to tell me what?"

A nurse suddenly poked her head through the door. "Sakura-san, thank Kami you're here! They had just brought someone in. He's in bad shape and we couldn't remove the poison on his wound."

Relief and disappointment flooded on the med-nin's face. "All right. I'll be there in a sec." The nurse nodded in acknowledgment and gently closed the door. She turned to Naruto and smiled. "Well, duty calls."

The blond pouted. "Can we eat out after your duty?"

"After that little tryst of yours? I don't think so." She saw Naruto's shoulders slumped. Giggling at her friend's dejected form, she headed for the door. "See you later, fox-boy." She turned the knob and exited the room, closing the door behind her.

Naruto threw his hands in frustration, sighing wearily. "I'm beginning to think I'm the unluckiest person in Konoha."

On the other side of the room, the med-nin leaned back on the door's wooden frame and placed a hand on her chest to steady the frantic beating of her heart. Sakura took a deep breath to calm her nerves, wondering what would've happened if they weren't interrupted yet again.

"_Shannaro! Maybe he wanted to go to the bathroom!" _Inner Sakura screamed from the inside.

"_Naruto wouldn't tell me something as stupid as wanting to go to the bathroom,"_ she retorted to her inner self.

"_You do know, more or less, what he was trying to say, don't you? And yet you were afraid…" _inner Sakura chided.

"_Shut up! I'm not talking to you!"_ She pushed herself off the door and paced hurriedly towards the emergency room as inner Sakura's derisive laughter reverberated throughout her brain.

"_Coward…"_

* * *

_Hokage-sama,_

_Root has made contact with the target but he chose not to engage them. He's heavily injured from the last fight and was now heading further north. Everything wasn't as we had expected. We shall wait for your next orders._

Tsunade sighed as she read the letter for the second time. Anxiously chewing her lip, she glanced at the clock on the wall impatiently and wondered what taking the old pervert so long.

As if on cue, the door to her office opened.

"Listen Tsunade," the toad hermit began as soon as he stepped inside. "About the bet, I've already made my move even if I didn't want to. Seriously, who on earth would make a bet against his favorite student?"

The Hokage rolled her eyes. "Shut up, Jiraiya. This is not about the bet."

The white-haired man pursed his lips and cocked his head. Seeing that his former teammate meant business, he straightened up and crossed his arms on his chest. "So, what got you all worked up? Somebody dug up Sarutobi's bones and put it on display?"

Tsunade sighed with irritation, thrusting the small note to him. "Read."

He took the paper from the Godaime's hand and skimmed over the text, knitting his brows. He sighed. "What are you planning to do?" he asked as he placed the paper back to her hand.

The Hokage eased her back, tucking the note inside her coat. "To wait… for now. It is still too early to make any move."

Jiraiya smiled. "A wise decision."

"I just hope that there aren't many casualties… but knowing _him_, I wouldn't count on it." Tsunade rested her chin on her intertwined hands. "God, sometimes I wonder why on earth I took this job…"

"Because you're bored?" the toad sennin provided with a chuckle. Then, he gave her a somber gaze. "Come on, you're better than that."

Tsunade sighed wearily. "Anyway, I'm going to head out for a while." She got up and brushed past him. "And about the bet, we should cancel it for the mean time. There's trouble brewing and I don't want to confirm it by winning," she said over her shoulder as she turned the doorknob.

"Whatever you say, princess," Jiraiya replied with a chuckle.

The Godaime gave him a small smile and finally left.

* * *

Placing his hands on his waist, Naruto scanned the place as he looked for signs of anyone he knew. Yakiniku Q was a bit crowded that night with patrons chattering merrily and food attendants serving from table to table. 

A girl carrying a large tray almost collided into him had Naruto didn't step aside to let her pass. The girl smiled gratefully and went on to her business. A light blush crept to his cheeks, having unaccustomed to the nice treatment of people around him. Naruto composed himself and finally saw three of his friends.

Stifling a yawn, Shikamaru stared pensively at his childhood friend as Chouji continued to snicker in between chewing and recounting Naruto's tale. Sighing, he picked up his chopsticks and finally decided to eat when the huge shinobi swooped up the remaining _yakiniku_ and stuffed it inside his mouth faster than the lazy ninja's eyes could follow. He shook his head and smiled.

"So Sakura caught him red-handed and sent him soaring towards the Hokage monument!" Chouji laughed heartily, pounding his fist on the table, after swallowing his dinner. "Naruto was barely conscious when we found him stuck on Tsunade-sama's forehead and what's worst was that Sakura punched him in the eye for good measure. I doubt he remembered it because he was already fast asleep."

Lee chuckled in amusement. "_Sugoi!_ Sakura-san's inhuman strength was so amazing! Poor Naruto-kun."

"Women with great power are troublesome," Shikamaru said, his chin resting on his hand.

"Hey, have you heard already?" Lee then asked after downing a half-glass of tea. "Ino-san used her _Shinranshin no Jutsu_ to torture enemy spies."

Chouji tilted his head. "Again? What did she do this time?"

The taijutsu master shuddered before continuing. "The _Gomon/Jinmon Butai_ caught two spies posing as villagers the other day. Naturally, they would be interrogated but they were stubborn and well-trained. They wouldn't break easily. Unfortunately, Ibiki-san was out of the village so Ino-san volunteered to do the _interrogation_ herself."

Shikamaru scoffed but said nothing. When it comes to his teammate, interrogation meant torture.

"The spies underestimated her, as usual, seeing that she's beautiful and innocent-looking. Ino-san got mad and well… it only took her three minutes tops to pry the information from them," Lee finished with an amused smile. "Since we are eating in a reputable establishment, I wouldn't elaborate on the details lest we might offend someone. All I can say is that it involved a pair of dull rusty pliers and a pail of fresh lime juice."

Chouji clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "Ino and Sakura… those two are surely scary."

"Tch. Women in general are troublesome," Shikamaru added with boredom.

"I can't believe you guys," Naruto suddenly said, looming before them. "You're eating dinner and you're talking about torture and mutilation."

"Oi, Naruto-kun," Lee greeted with a taunting smile. "How's your jaw?"

"Fine, better than ever," he replied with sarcasm as he slid himself inside the booth beside the taijutsu master.

"I would've offered you some food but Chouji here had eaten them up already," the lazy ninja said as he lit a cigarette.

"No thanks but I had already stopped for a ramen on my way here," Naruto replied, subconsciously fingering his jaw.

"That bad, huh?" Chouji asked with a grin, noticing his ministrations. "If you were going to do that sort of thing, you shouldn't be stupid enough to get caught."

The blond jounin rolled his eyes and then sighed. "I really don't understand her," he said with a light frown. "Why would she be angry like that? It wasn't my fault, really."

"Well, half of the time, women don't understand themselves either," Shikamaru drawled out. "Take Tsunade-sama for example. She chose to be Hokage but most of the time, she ran away from the work the job entails. Why would someone choose something that they didn't want to do in the first place?"

Naruto shrugged his shoulders. "I don't know. How would I know?"

The lazy ninja sighed irritably, exhaling smoke. "That was a rhetorical question, Naruto. You're not supposed to answer it."

* * *

"That idiot deserved it." 

Ino rolled her eyes as she shook her head hopelessly. "Come on, admit it, Forehead. You were jealous."

Sakura glowered, restraining herself from yanking all the flowers in the shop and hurtling them to the annoying ninja behind the counter. "I am most certainly not."

The blonde kunoichi giggled uncontrollably at her friend's denial. "Here we go again…" Ino eyed the med-nin with amusement as Sakura vainly tried to properly arrange some flowers in a vase. "With the way you handle those poor things, I wonder how you managed to remove the poison from your patient earlier… So…, what does _she_ look like?"

"Who?"

"You know, that girl who was smothering Naruto with her huge _endowments_," Ino said, waving her hand for emphasis.

Sakura frowned as she paused from her handiwork and tried to remember what the girl looked like. "I can't remember," she simply replied afterwards.

The blonde chuckled. "You were probably seeing red all over that's why you can't remember."

Sakura gave her _the_ look, wondering what on earth possessed her to come here.

"Let me ask you something instead…" Ino started, failing miserably to hide her smile. "Supposing you, Naruto, and Sasuke-kun were on a boat—"

The med-nin gave her a warning glance. "Ino… how many times do I have to tell you not to bring up his—"

Ino sighed. "Come on, Sakura. This isn't something serious. Just answer the question, okay?"

Sakura frowned. "Fine," she said.

Ino gave her a sweet smile. "Supposing team 7 were on a boat and it was sinking, and you were allowed to save only one, who would you choose? Sasuke-kun or Naruto?"

The med-nin rolled her eyes in exasperation. "What kind of idiotic question was that? We all know that those two didn't need to be saved. They'd just use chakra and walk on water!"

Ino gritted her teeth, annoyed. "Just answer the damn question!"

Sakura almost jumped out of her skin at the blonde's ferocity. "You're not doing a psychological mumbo-jumbo on me, are you?" she then asked, staring craftily at her friend. "You are kinda famous for that."

"No, this is just for fun," she replied, obviously at the end of her patience. "Are you going to answer or what?"

"Of course, I'd save Naruto," the med-nin suddenly replied without preamble. Sakura paused momentarily, shocked at how she had easily admitted it.

A huge grin was plastered on the blonde's face. "I knew you'd say that," she singsonged, eyes twinkling mischievously.

"Oh, hell no!" Sakura screamed. "I knew it! I knew it. You were doing your psycho shit on me, weren't you? I can't believe I fell for that!"

Ino rolled her eyes for nth time. "Hush, Sakura, don't be such a drama queen. It wasn't a psycho stuff, really. It was just a joke I heard from Anko-sensei. I bet you wouldn't wanna hear the other one."

The med-nin just arched a brow.

"But come to think of it," the blonde continued, smiling wistfully, "it _did_ kinda serve some purpose, after all." Ino stared at her, scrutinizing her face. "So, why did you choose him?"

She sighed. "Because he'd do the same for me and we both know that Sasuke-kun would rather die than be saved by either one of us."

"Hmm, true," the blonde agreed, tapping her chin thoughtfully. And then she laughed. "You know, of all the people that I had asked with that question, you're the only one who has a serious answer." Her eyes sparkled. "Is this some sort of an indication of your _true feelings_ for him?"

The bell attached on the door suddenly jingled, signaling that a customer had arrived. Sakura turned her head to take a look at the newcomer but froze when she realized who it was.

"_Iraisshaimase!"_ Ino greeted as she smiled her best. "What can I do for you?"

"Uhm, I'm looking for some pink carnations," Shiori said, returning her smile. "Do you have any?"

"Of course. Right this way please," the blonde replied, coming out of the counter and ushering her customer to a certain part of the shop.

Sakura followed the two with her intense gaze, wondering what possessed Naruto to ask this woman on a date. The girl wasn't particularly ugly but she wasn't that beautiful either. Shiori, however, had something – much to Sakura chagrin – that the med-nin lacked.

Sakura looked down at her chest and raised a brow. _Jiraiya-sama had said that Shishou used to have a flat chest. I wonder what kind of jutsu did she use…_

* * *

"Nee, Sensei, if you hadn't come that night… my problems would have ended right then and there!" Naruto's words were a bit slurred after downing a full glass of sake. 

Kakashi crinkled his exposed eye with amusement. He had chanced upon Naruto's small group at the restaurant and asked them to accompany him to drink afterwards since the other jounin were on a mission. The boys agreed, saved for Lee, who was contented sipping on his tea.

Chouji tilted his head, smiling. "Do you remember when Sakura got drunk at my birthday? It was the funniest thing ever."

"Yeah," Lee replied, smiling a little. "She was spewing things that would make Jiraiya-sama blush."

Kakashi smiled through his mask and then turned at his former student. "I heard Sakura pummeled you to the ground after she caught you hooking up with a girl."

Naruto glowered at him before resting his head on his forearms. "Must you rub it in?" he asked with annoyance. "Damn Ero-sennin… He just disappeared into thin air! That stupid pervert..."

"I'm sure Jiraiya-sama felt bad for you," Kakashi said half-heartedly. "So, how were you fairing with your latest endeavor?"

The blond's shoulder slumped. "Not good."

His former sensei shook his head with a laugh. Then he turned at Lee. "You used to pine after Sakura before. Why did you change your mind?"

Lee smiled at the silver-haired jounin. "Well, I realized that I don't have the right to come between two persons who are clearly meant for each other." And then he gave Naruto a thumbs-up.

"Plus, he's dating a civilian whose favorite color is green," Chouji added with a snicker.

"It is a normal occurrence for male ninjas to fall for their female counterparts since they were always together during life and death situations," Lee said with a cheesy grin. "But sometimes, you'd realize that there's someone who was really meant for you."

"I can't believe I'm hearing this," Shikamaru grumbled moodily.

"Hey guys," Naruto called out with uncertainty. "I'm going to ask you something but… this is just for reference, okay? It doesn't mean that I'm asking this out of experience—"

Chouji suddenly burped, earning him an offended stare from the blushing blond. The Akimichi chuckled. "Sorry. Come on, Naruto. If you were going to ask something, just ask. We don't need all those introductions."

Lee nodded in agreement while Shikamaru seemed uninterested and closed his eyes. Kakashi's exposed eyes wrinkled in amusement.

"All right," Naruto replied. He stopped his slight fidgeting, loosening up his collar. "You see… My _friend_ – he's a guy, of course – well, he… he really likes this girl but every time he admits his feelings for her… uhm, he always gets interrupted."

Kakashi let out a choked laugh while Chouji could barely contain his laughter. Shikamaru regarded him with one sleepy eye but said nothing, although one corner of his lips was curled up in a smile. Lee was nodding his head, all ears for the blond, obviously without a clue.

"I feel sorry for you friend, Naruto-kun," the taijutsu master said sympathetically. "How many times did he get interrupted?"

Kakashi and Chouji suddenly burst out laughing, unable to keep them anymore. The copy ninja was laughing without a sound but his shoulders were shaking uncontrollably and there were tears forming at the corner of his exposed eye. The huge shinobi, on the other, hand, was pounding hard on the table it shook and clutching his stomach in sweet agony.

Confused, Lee stared hard at the convulsing ninjas. "What the hell is wrong with them?"

"You should tell your _friend_, Naruto, to stop trying for now," Shikamaru spoke amidst the laughter.

Naruto furrowed his brows. "Why? How would Sak— I mean, how would the girl know if he would stop trying to tell her?"

The lazy ninja sighed with annoyance. "There are a lot of ways to show your feelings for a girl aside from basically telling her how you feel."

"Yeah," Chouji agreed after coming down from his high. "Like simply being there for her. It was evident that fate wasn't on _your_ side. You should let it pass for a bit."

"_My_ side?" the _jinchuuriki_ asked with a nervous smile. "It wasn't me, it was my friend, got it?"

Chouji chuckled. "Whatever."

Lee cleared his throat. "I think your friend should pursue his goal. That is what youth is all about! He should never give up easily."

"Here comes that damn explosion of youth again," Shikamaru grumbled inaudibly.

"My dad said that love is like war," Chouji explained with a grin. "If you think you were losing, you should retreat for a while and reorganize your troops. Do you understand what I'm saying?"

"I guess so," Naruto replied, scratching his head.

"I'm sure your friend doesn't have to try that hard. I mean, everybody in the village knows his intentions for this girl, for goodness' sake," Shikamaru added with a knowing smirk. "It's one of those things in Konoha that doesn't have to be spoken. But if you, I mean, _your_ friend wants to go all the trouble then he should follow Chouji's advice."

Naruto gritted his teeth. "Whoever gave you the idea that it was me?"

The lazy tactician merely snorted.

Kakashi cleared his throat nervously, noticing that the blond jounin was tinged red with mixed anger and embarrassment. "Well, in any case, I hope Naruto's _friend_ learned something," he said, glancing meaningfully at his former student.

"Well, that's only the half of it," Naruto added with a sigh.

"Half?" Lee asked, his thick brow raised.

The blond nodded. "You see, he thinks that if he became successful with the confession, then probably the girl would answer him right away, right?"

"How typical of you," Shikamaru commented dryly. "Listen, when you tell someone that you're in love with them, it doesn't mean that you'll end up together, you know. It's not like those sappy stories you watch in movies."

Lee nodded absently. "Sometimes they would be screaming: _Kyaaah! Stay away from meee!_"

"Or that famous line: _'it's not you, it's me.'_" Chouji chuckled. "Or that _'I'm not ready to be in a relationship yet,'_ and then you'll see her frolicking with a guy beside her."

Kakashi clucked his tongue disapprovingly. "So young and yet so jaded."

Naruto's brow twitched. "So, how would you know if the girl likes you or not?" he asked impatiently. "My friend hasn't got a clue and he's been waiting for three years!"

Chouji shrugged his shoulders. "Why don't we ask Kakashi-sensei here? Since he's a tad older than us, I bet he got some prior experience with women, ne?"

"A tad older?" The silver-haired jounin repeated with a wry expression.

The _jinchuuriki_ snorted. "I don't think Kakashi-sensei's the right person to ask, given the fact that he's not interested in women. He doesn't even have a girlfriend and he doesn't even bother finding one. Reading that boring porn is his number one priority."

"Just because I don't have a girlfriend doesn't mean I am not interested with women," Kakashi deadpanned. "It's just that the women here are not _that_ interesting…" He paused, and then drank his _sake. _"Anyway, patience is the key, Naruto. It is best to savor victor when you know you've worked hard for it."

Lee nodded with approval.

"That didn't answer my question!"

"Listen Naruto," the lazy ninja intervened. "There's no exact answer for that, really. Women are the most complex creatures on the planet but unfortunately, they are the ones who call the shots. Sometimes they may act as if they like you but in reality, they don't."

"Or," Chouji added with a chuckle. "Sometimes they act as if they don't like you but in all honesty, they actually do."

Naruto raised a brow. "So it just like a guessing game?"

"Yes."

A moment of silence passed as Naruto processed this newfound information. He didn't realize that it would be this complicated. He had always thought that somehow, Sakura could reciprocate his feelings a bit after everything they had been through. But now that they mentioned it, a confession to her proved to be more difficult.

"Feh, how troublesome," he grumbled afterwards, frowning.

Shikamaru grinned with a lazy smile. "My thoughts exactly."

* * *

Ino stared pointedly at her friend and sighed. "With the way you were looking at my customer, I highly doubt that she would come back." 

Sakura just laughed innocently. "What on earth are you talking about?"

"You were glaring daggers at the girl, Forehead!" the blonde said exasperatedly. "Do you even know her?"

"Not on a personal level," she admitted with a small smile.

"Shiori-san is one of my regulars," Ino explained with annoyance, haphazardly retying her long hair.

"Shiori… so that's her name," the med-nin mumbled absently.

The blonde gaped at her, surprised. "What? You know her?"

"Not really. I just met her this afternoon."

Realization dawned upon Ino's face. "She was the girl who…"

Sakura nodded. "Yep, the one and the same."

Ino burst out laughing. "Oh my god, no wonder you were looking at her funny!" she exclaimed. "You've got one hell of a competition."

"No, I'm not," the med-nin admonished, shaking her head vehemently.

"Oh come on!" Ino prodded with a laugh. "I mean she's pretty and had some… assets. Did you know that she's Jiraiya-sama's _friend_?"

The pink-haired kunoichi raised a brow. "Friend? What do you mean _friend_?"

"Jiraiya-sama brought her here to Konoha some time ago," the blonde replied. "From where, nobody knows. Rumors say that she's Jiraiya-sama's love child but nobody knows for sure if that were true or not."

Sakura shot her a dubious look.

Ino continued, examining her manicured nails. "If you didn't act now, you'd find yourself at the loser's end. If the rumors were true, Jiraiya-sama would naturally choose her for Naruto over you since he's like a son to him. They would be a one big happy family!"

The med-nin snorted.

"Plus look at the size of those things!" Ino exclaimed with wide eyes.

"But they weren't that big," Sakura countered with a sneer.

The blonde kunoichi rolled her eyes. "Well, compared to yours and mine, it _is_ big."

"A huge breast is a big hindrance for a female ninja."

Ino gave her a taunting smile. "But it didn't stop Tsunade-sama from being the greatest ninja in the village…"

Sakura gritted her teeth. "What do you want me to do?!" she yelled out, slamming her hand on the countertop. The wooden drawers shook alarmingly with the impact. "Make my chest as big as… I don't know, melons?!"

The blonde was literally rolling on the floor at Sakura's outburst. The med-nin frowned, seeing her best friend laughed at her expense. She crossed her arms on her chest in annoyance.

"Pig," Sakura muttered under her breath. "You'll get your turn someday."

"Oh, I better warn her," Ino said after composing herself and wiping the tears of mirth off her eyes. "I mean Shiori-san... she might find herself one day on the front pages of Konoha's newspapers." She playfully hit Sakura's arm, seeing that the med-nin's mood haven't lighten up a bit. "Don't you think it would be easy if you'd just say: 'Stay away from my _boyfriend_, you freak or I'll pummel you to kingdom come'? It would definitely save you and Naruto the trouble."

The med-nin sighed with annoyance. Finally abandoning her pathetic attempt at _ikebana_, she got up and decided to head for the door.

"Hey, where are you going?" the blonde asked.

"It's late, I think I better go home," she replied moodily. Then, she turned her head over her shoulders and glanced at her friend. "You know, the reason I came her was that I was going to consult you about… _something._ But seeing your reactions, I doubt that I'd get a sound advice from you."

"What? You should have said earlier!" Ino scrambled to her feet and tried to catch up with her.

"Night, piggy." Sakura waved as she closed the door behind her, ignoring the blonde's indignant shriek.

The cool wind blew, sending her pink locks tumbling on her forehead as she stepped outside. Sakura brushed the stray strands off her eyes and looked up, gazing at the shimmering stars scattered like diamonds in the velvet sky.

She never really meant to hit Naruto like that earlier. Sometimes, she has this tendency to act without thinking and it was always Naruto who was at the receiving end. It amazed her to no end how her teammate was able to always put up with her temper. Ino's words rang inside her head and Sakura had to smile at its absurdity.

"Stay away from my boyfriend, you freak," she repeated in a low whisper, chuckling at the way it rolled off her tongue. The med-nin shook her head. She couldn't imagine Naruto being her boyfriend. Besides, it was fun this way. No fuss, no worries.

But if he would leave Konoha again, she dreaded to imagine her life without him.

"I guess, I'd better give Shiori-san a warning in the future then…"

_tsuzuku_

* * *

**Translations:**

Yakiniku – grilled meat  
Sugoi – Awesome  
Shinranshin no jutsu – Mind body disturbance technique  
Gomon/Jinmon Butai – Torture/Interrogation Force  
Iraisshaimase! – Welcome!  
Ikebana – flower arrangement

* * *

**Author's Notes:** I've intended for this chapter to be just an interlude (that's why nothing much happened) but I got carried away and made this longer than the previous ones. I hope you've enjoyed it, nonetheless. Thanks for your wonderful reviews! I'm glad I made you all laugh. 

I'm not turning this into some dark fic in the end, in case you're wondering. I'm not really good at writing angst. I haven't even tried writing one. Hehee. So… please leave a review (onegai!). It would help me update much faster.

Thanks!


	6. Chapter 5: Daybreak

_**Chapter Five: Daybreak**_

_Juichigatsu Hatsuka (November 20__th)_

Shino gazed impassively at his companion who was crouched low in the bushes with him, studying the bloodied and battered man resting under the huge tree. Averting his gaze, he saw their target struggle to move. The Aburame readied himself for battle, his hand reaching for the _ninja-to_ strapped on his back, in case they were spotted. However, the target stopped moving and fell on his back, breathing deeply. The bug ANBU slowly brought back his hand on the ground.

"Shit, he must have sensed us," Kiba whispered fiercely, tightening his grip on his kunai.

"Quiet," he said, his voice calm. "His chakra reserve is extremely low. He wouldn't be able to fight us even if he did see us." He surveyed the bloodied ground littered with bodies of dead shinobis. "Ten bodies."

Kiba tugged unconsciously at the mask covering his face. "If I'm not mistaken, more than ten elite Root ANBU were pursuing him. Where the hell are they?"

Shino was silent.

"I think this is the proper time to proceed with our mission." the Inuzuka said afterwards. "With them gone, we have the right opportunity to—"

"We'll wait."

Kiba's eyes widened. "What? But what if—"

"We will wait," Shino repeated with steel, enunciating every word. He then placed both his hands on the ground and a few seconds later, bugs were starting to emerge from his pores and crawl on his skin one by one. "They will alert me if somebody's nearby. We can't risk being seen by Root."

"Fine," Kiba muttered, eyeing the insects warily as they started to fly away. "But I still think that we shouldn't have wasted any moment longer. We've been away from home for five months. If this goes on longer, I think my head will explode!"

The bug-nin remained impassive. If there were a mission higher than S-Rank, he was pretty sure that they were just doing it. For a moment, Shino wondered if it would be easier had they just gone for the initial mission instead. Seeing the dead bodies, however, diminished any of his last thoughts.

"Look," Kiba whispered, bringing back his attention. "He's starting to move."

Shino nodded. "Let's go."

* * *

_Rokugatsu Nanoka (June 7__th)  
__5 Months Prior_

Signaling the start of summer, the morning sun shone brightly as Konoha's Godaime Hokage gazed dreamily at the slivers of light filtering through her clear glass window. When she was still a child, she remembered watching her grandfather work in his office, the morning sunshine highlighting his figure. She also remembered that Shodaime never failed to give her an affectionate smile, amidst the towering paperworks, and cheer her up no matter how busy he was.

"_That awful frown on your face doesn't suit this beautiful morning, hime,"_ he would say and then he would pat his thigh invitingly. Naturally, she would jump over and sit, and then he would ask, _"So, what did Jiraiya-kun do this time?"_

"_That baka dismantled my dolls again."_

The First Hokage would then laugh softly and stroke her hair. _"A sign of vengeance, I see. Maybe he wouldn't have done that if you hadn't stolen his shuriken. You should learn to treat him nicely, my dear. Once you graduate from the ninja academy, he might be one of your teammates. And as teammates, you should—"_

"_Help and work with each other,"_ she then would finish with a light frown. _"But Jii-chan…_"

"_Let's go outside and take a walk, hime. The village looks lovely today…"_

"Tsunade… Tsunade! Are you even listening?"

"Hmm?" Sighing, the Hokage turned her longing gaze away from the window. The view from her office was spectacular: from the clear blue sky littered with puffs of clouds of infinite white, to the greenery and hustle and bustle of the village coming to life. Mornings at Konoha were indeed beautiful and no wonder her grandfather always took his morning stroll with her.

And speaking of which, her feet was itching to head outside.

After seeing the two other occupants of the room, however, the thought of enjoying her new favorite hobby began to dissipate. She sighed for the second time and looked outside with a wistful glance. _Now I know why the caged bird sings…_

Homura cleared his throat to catch the Hokage's elusive attention. "We've been trying to bring this matter into your consideration for quite some time now, Hokage-sama. Unfortunately, you were always out or _otherwise occupied_. I wonder what sort of things you occupy yourself with, seeing all these unsigned scrolls and documents scattered on your desk," he finished with a revolted glance at her paperworks.

Tsunade rolled her eyes. Oh, what she wouldn't give to be anywhere but here in her blasted office. She tried to reign and compose herself. She wouldn't lose it in front of these people. "I'm here now so what is this _matter_ you spoke of that need to be considered?"

"Uchiha Sasuke."

The words resonated inside her head like a huge gong hit repeatedly by a bunch of Narutos on a sugar-high. It was as if somebody had dropped a bomb inside her office or Katsuyu, Gamabunta, and Manda decided to have a friendly wrestling match nearby. Tsunade groaned. She had been avoiding _the_ topic for about a month and it seemed that the two village hawks had finally cornered her… a proverbial checkmate.

"Can't we talk this some other time? Like when it's not 7:30 in the morning?" the Hokage asked with mute annoyance.

Koharu snapped her fan shut. "For the sake of the village, this matter shouldn't be delayed any further. The boy may be planning some form of retribution to Konoha as we speak."

Okay, control just went out of the window. "Who, in the ninth level of hell, gave you that idea?!" she demanded fiercely.

"It is not important whose idea it was," Homura calmly replied. "What's important is we should eliminate all possible threats to the village as soon as we can."

Tsunade stood and absently walked towards the window. She gazed down at the students playing at the academy grounds without a care in the world. How she wished she could trade places but then again Konoha would _really_ be in great danger if she let a bunch of five-year-olds run the place. She sighed, deciding that it would be best if she would face the elders with as much as dignity as she can. Maybe they would be impressed for once and just drop the blasted subject.

"I'm sorry for my… outburst," she began and placed herself back on her chair. "Anyway, I highly doubt that Sasuke would be coming back to Konoha with a vengeful motive. After all, he had no enmity to the village whatsoever. He made that clear when Naruto and Sakura had fought him for the last time." She paused and glanced at her sensei's former teammates. "What I do know is that his only goal is to kill his brother Itachi, not to destroy Konoha."

"How could you trust a man who severed his ties with the village and allied himself with Konoha's number one enemy?" Koharu asked with disbelief.

"I didn't say I trusted him, now did I?" Tsunade countered. "It was only logical that he wouldn't dare attack the village. Not with so many talented ninjas around. Ninjas who are more skilled and talented than he is."

Koharu opened her mouth to try to say something but Homura held out his hand to silence her. "I respect your _beliefs_, Hokage-sama… and I'm glad that you've brought up Uchiha Itachi's name—"

Tsunade gritted her teeth and mentally gave herself a smack on the head.

"Unlike his younger brother, Uchiha Itachi has more _destructive_ tendencies. In addition, he is more likely to attack the village without warning. We couldn't just sit idly by and wait for someone to destroy Konoha for the second time. Times are not like before. The world is much peaceful after Orochimaru's attack. I'm afraid we wouldn't be able to search for funds easily if the village –God forbid— came to a great harm. We couldn't afford that, now could we?"

The Hokage tilted her head. "So what are you trying to say?"

Homura's expression became grave. "We suggest that you pursue the Uchihas."

"What?" Tsunade's eyes widened.

Unfazed, the old man continued. "I understand that the Uchihas are listed in the bingo book of every ANBU in this village and huge bounties were placed on their heads respectively. Danzou had gone to the great lengths of _'allying'_ himself with Orochimaru to assassinate Uchiha Sasuke in order to eliminate the bigger threat three years ago. Unfortunately, the mission was a failure…"

"What are we suggesting is that you must form ANBU squads to locate and eliminate either one of them without fail," Koharu said without even batting an eyelash.

"A search and destroy mission? Do you understand the consequences of what you are saying?" she asked, her brows knitted, slamming her hands on top of her desk. "We might as well line up all ANBU members, tie them up, and use them as kunai practice dummies! Better yet, serve them food laced with the most potent potion known to man." Tsunade shook her head with fury. "If you think I believe that ninjas are just expendable tools then you are sadly mistaken!"

"For the greater good of the village, sacrifices must be made." Homura icily interjected.

"Do you have any idea how powerful these Uchihas are?" Tsunade asked with equal disdain. "You're sending Konoha ninjas into suicide if you let them run after the brothers."

"If the Uchihas were that powerful, then it's fairly advisable to get rid of them." Homura said with finality. "We're giving you _enough _time to think this over, Hokage-sama."

The village elders stood up and headed for the door, but Koharu paused as if she remembered something. "What do you med-nins put it? Prevention is better than cure?" And then she gave her a smirk before exiting through the door.

Tsunade slammed her fist, making a dent on the worn-out desk. It was a _beautiful_ morning indeed.

* * *

_Rokugatsu Juichinichi_ _(June 11__th)_

Naruto scanned the top of the Hokage tower impatiently through his mask as his stomach made a grumbling noise. He just returned from his mission earlier when a co-ANBU informed him of an emergency meeting with the Hokage. He didn't have the time to eat. He just rushed here without even bringing his things back to his apartment.

"Do you know that you smell?"

Naruto rolled his eyes. "Shut up, Kiba. I just returned from my mission, give me a break!" he whispered fiercely at the man beside him.

Kiba snickered, tugging at his mask to get it in place. "Heh, just pulling your leg, man. You know Kazama-senpai is a lot worse than you. He still got blood all over his uniform."

"What's this meeting all about?" the blond asked wearily. "And if Baa-chan were that heartless to call everybody here, even the ones who just arrived after a long mission, she should be considerate enough to come on time!"

"Hush, Naruto!" Tenten, popping suddenly in front of them, reprimanded sternly. "You shouldn't talk that way about the Hokage. Besides, a woman has the right to be late."

"Spare us the feminist mumbo-jumbo," the Inuzuka taunted. "No wonder Neji doesn't want to make _that_ move with you."

"Hah!" Tenten quipped, raising her chin. "For your information, dog breath, Neji had already asked me out."

Kiba opened his mouth to make a nice comeback but closed it abruptly. Did she just say that the cold Hyuuga prince had asked her out? "What?"

"You know, Hinata would've liked you better if you would stop being obnoxious," Tenten teased. "And for an Inuzuka, you have the most impaired hearing."

Laughter welled up in Kiba's chest. "Well, I'll be damned! If that's the case, then congratulations are in order," he said with a laugh. "Man, we should get together sometimes, I mean the eleven of us." He then tapped Shino, who was standing in silence beside Tenten, on the shoulder. "No excuses for you, okay?"

The Aburame merely grunted.

"When will this meeting start?" Naruto complained with annoyance. "I'm hungry!

As if to answer the blonde's whining, the Hokage appeared on the top of the stairs. All ANBU members stood up in attention. Tsunade nodded in acknowledgement.

"At ease, everyone," she said as she took her position in front. The Hokage surveyed the entire area as the members of the elite group of ninjas took their respective places. Naruto's recognizable blond hair caught her gaze and he felt her resolve falter. Tsunade swallowed a lump on her throat and steeled herself to accomplish what she came here for today.

"Listen up," she began in a firm tone. "The reason I call on all of you today is that the village elders and _I_ had come to an agreement of disposing all potential threats to the village. After the incident with Orochimaru and Akatsuki a few years back, the elders deemed it _necessary_ to eliminate any person that would put Konoha in great danger. They were concerned that if the village were to be attacked unexpectedly, we wouldn't be able to get up on our knees easily."

Kiba frowned in thought, elbowing Naruto's arm. "Hey, does this mean that we would be hunting S-class _nukenin_? Isn't that the _oinin's_ job?" he asked in a low whisper.

"I don't know," the blond whispered back, eyeing the Hokage warily. "Why don't you let the old lady finish? Baa-chan would have our heads if she caught us not listening." He saw the legendary med-nin suddenly turned her dark amber gaze on them. Naruto felt a bead of sweat ran down his temple.

"You there!" she said, pointing towards Kiba. The dog ANBU immediately tensed up. "Do you have something to ask?"

"Er, yes I do, Hokage-sama," Kiba replied shakily. "I was wondering if we were going to get rid of every _nukenin_ listed in the bingo book."

Tsunade smiled at the Inuzuka's perceptiveness. "Ah, yes, the bingo book," she muttered thoughtfully. "No, we're not going to do that." She then directed her gaze to all of the shinobi present as Kiba relaxed. "In line with the elder's concern, every ANBU will be assigned an S-Rank mission."

There were murmurs all over as the Hokage took a deep breath. _Here it goes…_ Tsunade cleared her throat as the whispers softly died down. "As your fellow ANBU had mentioned, there are several names listed in the bingo book that pose a threat to the village. However, we would only pursue the ones who are… _were_ affiliated with the village…"

Naruto's eyes widened as he felt his heart lurch inside his chest. _Missing-nin… there are only two missing-nin from the village…_

"All of you are to eliminate Uchiha Itachi… and Uchiha Sasuke."

* * *

_Juichigatsu Nijuichinichi (November 21__st)  
__Present day_

_Hokage-sama,_

_We apologize for the delay of this message. I'm afraid we have bad news. More than half of the Root pursuers, though with difficulty, had been eliminated by the target. Location of the remaining ANBU is still unknown. It is possible that they came back for reinforcements…_

Tsunade clenched her jaw as she read another note sent by two of her ANBU. She was enjoying her morning stroll by the village when Shizune came scurrying towards her, bringing that small piece of paper. And it had, without a doubt, effectively ruined her beautiful morning.

"The old man definitely had no qualms wasting the lives of others," she muttered grimly, tucking the note inside her coat. She then acknowledged her attendant standing at an arm's length. "Shizune, what's my schedule for today?"

"_Eeto_…" Shizune paused, looking at her list. "You have a meeting with the Academy instructors about the new curriculum after lunch… after that, a meeting with the elders…"

The Hokage groaned. "Ugh."

"Tsunade-sama…" the younger med-nin admonished with a light frown. Her mistress conceded with a nod. "After that, your daily rounds to the hospital and the rest you would spend signing documents."

"What about the time before lunch?"

Shizune looked over her list again. "Mission distribution, document signing, client meeting, document signing and document signing," she reiterated happily. "Aren't you excited?"

"Yeah, I'm excited all right," Tsunade grumbled with sarcasm. "Whoopee…"

The med-nin giggled. "Lighten up, Tsunade-sama. It wasn't that bad."

"You try being a Hokage and tell me it wasn't that bad," the Godaime said with a frown. "By the way, have you seen Naruto? That boy's plaguing me for an A-rank mission and I'm running out of excuses not to give him any!"

"No, I haven't," Shizune replied. "He may be training by himself or eating ramen again. Shall I look for him?"

"No. If he comes to my office, tell him I'm dead or whatever… just don't let him bother me." She turned her back and took a step to continue her morning stroll when Shizune called her out again. "Yes?"

"The villagers were wondering when will you do something about that?" and then she pointed towards the Hokage Monument. "It's been five days since somebody had noticed it was there. It's becoming an eye sore."

Tsunade raised a golden brow. "Do something about what?" She then followed the direction where Shizune was pointing and a vein immediately popped in her head.

Her face on the mountain stared back at her. Everything was the same and there were still the five faces of the past and present Hokage. However, there was something else. There was a deep indention on her monument's forehead that was shaped remarkably like…

"NARUTOO!!!"

Elsewhere…

"Achooo!"

Shaking his head, Teuchi eyed the blond jounin with amusement as Naruto wiped his nose with his sleeve.

"Somebody's talking about you," the old man said with a smile.

Naruto grinned. "I hope it wasn't my landlord. I haven't been able to pay my rent this month because Baa-chan wouldn't give me something other than D-Rank. Anyway, I'm glad I still have money left for my ramen." He wolfed down the remaining noodles on his bowl and burped with satisfaction. "Baa-chan was acting _very_ weird lately. Would you believe that she threw me out of her office just because I was asking for a decent mission? Man, I was being nice, too. Is it that time of the month?"

The owner of the Ichiraku Ramen hollered with laughter as the blond stared at him speculatively. "Hokage-sama is already in her fifties, boy. She's probably in her menopausal stage already."

"Bah, who knows," Naruto scoffed, rolling his blue eyes. "She may be cheating on her 'feminine cycle,' too since she was able to do it with her youthful appearance."

"I don't think Tsunade-sama would waste her time on that," the old man said.

The _jinchuuriki_ got up as he fished for some coins in his pocket. "I guess I better try my luck today. Baa-chan might take pity on me and give me a B-Rank," he said, placing his payment on the counter. Noticing that his pockets were emptied, he sighed. "You still have those free ramen coupons, right?"

Teuchi chuckled. "Fine, you'll get a free meal next time."

Naruto beamed. "Gee, thanks." He then waved at the kind old man before setting off to find and pester the village leader.

* * *

_Juichigatsu Nijusannichi (November 23)_

Inhaling and exhaling a deep breath, Konoha's Fifth Hokage rolled her shoulders and readied herself to spend, yet again, another gruesome hour at her office. The 'almost daily' meeting with the elders was an unwelcome respite from the monotonous task of document signing and stamping. Then again, the meeting itself was a dead bore, not to mention repetitive and tedious. Frankly, she was getting tired of their impatience. Why don't they just carry out the mission on their own, instead? After all, they were the ones who badly wanted Uchiha Sasuke dead. She wouldn't want to sacrifice the lives of her precious ANBU just to appease the council's paranoia.

Tsunade sighed. Even if you were the most powerful ninja in the village, sometimes, you just couldn't have it your way.

Pushing the door open, the Hokage had to roll her eyes at the sight that greeted her. Aside from her sensei's former teammates, Naruto is one of the people that she didn't want to see at the moment. Striding past the blond ninja, she took her seat and directed a mildly exasperated glance at her assistant for letting the boy in.

"If I hadn't seen you walking that day, I would've believed Shizune-oneechan's excuse that you were dead… In any case, I've already fixed your face on the mountain, Baa-chan, now can I have something above B-rank?"

The legendary medical ninja pursed her lips and sighed. She rummaged through the scattered documents on her desk and finally getting what she was looking for, she handed it to the annoying shinobi in front of her. "Here."

Naruto skimmed over the paper and his brow immediately shot up to his hairline. "Dog-walking? Is there something more boring than dog-walking?" he asked with sarcasm.

Tsunade smirked. "More boring eh? That could be arranged." She glanced at Shizune. "Since Hinata's in a mission, I was thinking we should let Naruto _baby sit _her students. What do you think, Shizune?"

"That would be a good idea, Tsunade-sama," the younger med-nin replied with an overbright smile.

"Oh no you don't!" the blond jounin hollered, slamming his palm on the Hokage's desk. "I'd rather walk all dogs in Konoha than spend a day with those little monsters!"

Tsunade clucked her tongue disapprovingly, resting her chin on the back of her hand. "What kind of Hokage would you make if you couldn't even look after a trio of ten-year-olds?" She saw him raise his head stubbornly, crossing his arms on his chest. She shook her head. "You do know that there's more to being Hokage than simply being powerful, don't you? Like dealing with loud and obstinate subordinates—"

"Fine, I'll take the dog-walking mission," Naruto grumbled moodily. He rolled his eyes at the triumphant smile on the legendary med-nin's face. "You haven't seen Ero-sennin by any chance, have you?"

"No," the Hokage replied, making herself more comfortable on her chair. "He told me he would be _gathering data_… or somewhere along those lines. Funny, he was rather in a hurry when he told me he was leaving… Anyway, you should better leave before your client gets impatient."

Making a face, the blond decided to leave. Tsunade sighed with relief and smiled, finally being left in peace. Her smile dissolved, however, after seeing that the annoying jounin hadn't left at all.

"Oh, for the love of God, Naruto!" she exhaled exasperatedly. "What more do you want?"

"You haven't told me yet the reason why you removed me from ANBU," he asked coolly, regarding her with a hard expression.

Tsunade rolled her eyes as she massaged her temples. "All will be answered in due time. I've told you that, haven't I?"

"When is _due time_?" he asked stubbornly.

"_Due time_ is when you leave my office!" the Hokage yelled, restraining the urge to make a bloody pulp out of Naruto. "Now leave before I further demote you into a genin!"

Glowering, the blond threw her a sidelong glance before he finally left for real. Tsunade eased her back on the chair, groaning, and pinched the bridge of her nose.

"I swear, one day, that _gaki_ would be the death of me," she grumbled, eyeing Shizune as her first apprentice cleared her desk. "Not a day went by that he didn't complain with his mission."

Shizune giggled. "Naruto-kun has a good reason to complain this time."

Tsunade smirked despite of herself. "With that kid around, my job surely became a little less boring."

A warning knock on the door sounded and the Hokage frowned, dreading that it would be the annoying blond again. To her relief, the door opened and Izumo stepped inside, bearing a letter on his hand.

"This just came in for you today, Hokage-sama," he said, placing the small envelope on top of Tsunade's desk.

Leaning forward, she took the envelope and opened it. "Anything else?" she asked before proceeding to read.

"That would be all, ma'am," Izumo replied with courtesy.

"You're dismissed," she said with a smile. The jounin nodded before leaving the Hokage's office.

Tsunade read the letter and she had to laugh at its contents. Then, an idea came to her mind. Shizune raised her brow as she watched her mistress smile malevolently at the piece of paper in her hand.

"What time will Sakura's shift at the hospital end?" the Hokage asked afterwards.

"Hmm, about six in the evening," she replied.

The older med-nin chuckled. "Good," she said, nodding thoughtfully. "Tell her to come to my office after her shift… and Naruto, too. It's time to pay an old debt."

_tsuzuku_

* * *

**Translations:**

Ninja-to – ninja sword (has a reach shorter than the normal katana, but more convenient when fighting in small spaces).  
Hime – princess  
Jii-chan – Grandpa  
Nukenin – missing ninja  
Oinin – hunter ninja  
Gaki – brat

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Thanks for the overwhelming response to the last chapter, guys! They were really appreciated. :D I'm very glad you liked it. Special thanks to Noobelinoob for the message!

I'm sorry if I weren't updating fast enough. Stuff happened and nothing really came out when I wasn't in the mood. I would just sit in front of the computer and stare at the blinking cursor for hours. That bad… But I would still try. :D

Well, things would get more interesting after this. Till next time!


	7. Chapter 6: Hitch

_**Chapter Six: Hitch**_

_Nijuichigatsu Nijushichinichi (November 27__th)_

Naruto winced as he pushed the door open and stepped inside the infamous jounin's lounge. The loud thumping music blared through the speakers and the strong scent of cigarette smoke mixed with a tinge of alcohol wafted in the air.

The dancing lights blinded him for a second and the blond blinked a few times to readjust his gaze. Smirking, Naruto shook his head with disbelief. _Gejimayu_ did really know how to throw one heck of a party. When the taijutsu master had asked him to come, Naruto thought that it would only be a small get-together among their friends. It never occurred to him that Lee would be inviting the whole of Konoha.

"Naruto-niichan!"

The blond jounin rolled his eyes at the sound of that voice. Slowly, he turned and saw Konohamaru advancing to his direction, a wide goofy smile gracing his lips. "Are you sure you are allowed in here?" he asked as soon as the late Sandaime's grandson had approached.

The young ANBU grinned. "I'm a jounin, aren't I? And this party is for jounins, with the exception, of course, of Iruka-sensei."

Naruto frowned. "That's not what I meant, _baka_. You're not legally allowed to drink yet and this place is brimming with _sake_ and—"

"Since when did you become a stickler for rules?" Konohamaru asked with an amused chuckle. "Lee-san invited me, it would be impolite to say no. Besides, this is my first time to be in a jounin's party so I'm gonna enjoy it through and through." Eyeing his surrounding warily, he leaned over to the blond's ear and whispered, "Say, do you think they would like to see my new and improved _oiroke no jutsu_?"

The _jinchuuriki's_ brow twitched. "Hell no." Naruto gave him a stern look. "Listen, kid. If you want to spend the remainder of the party at the hospital then be my guest. See Anko-sensei over there?" And then he pointed towards the snake _tokujo _who was cackling maniacally as she was winning a drinking contest against Shiranui Genma. "She would skin you alive and I swear she would enjoy doing it."

Konohamaru gulped audibly, shuddering at the thought.

Naruto crossed his arms on his chest, nodding. Spotting Lee with his peripheral vision, he waved frantically to get this attention. "Hey _Gejimayu_!"

Lee noticed the raucous blond and smiled. "Oi, Naruto-kun, Konohamaru-kun!"

"Nice party," the blond jounin said as soon as the taijutsu master was within earshot.

"Happy birthday, Lee-senpai," the shortest jounin said.

"Thanks," he replied. Then Lee turned at the blond, smirking. "I thought you're not coming. You have a mission tomorrow, right?"

Naruto grinned. "You know I have to. It wouldn't be a party without me."

Lee nodded with a chuckle. Noticing that the pink-haired med-nin was absent, he asked, "Where's Sakura-san?"

The blond huffed. "She said she's going to pick Ino up. I think she's going to help her about something."

"I see. Come on," he said, draping his arms at the two's shoulders, and lead them towards the back. "Almost everybody's here. I reserved a table for all of us. It's near the food and drinks."

* * *

Cautiously scanning the place, Hatake Kakashi, one of Konoha's elite ninjas, sighed with relief and slipped out his new edition, special copy of Icha Icha Tactics. Grinning with anticipation through his dark mask, his calloused fingers were itching to leaf through the pages and peruse the contents with all of his heart's desire. Slowly, the silver-haired jounin opened the book but the thought of getting caught by his self-proclaimed eternal rival dampened his excitement and caused him to close the manuscript with a soft smack. 

Carefully, Kakashi's exposed eye assessed the situation. He was sitting with Naruto's circle of friends but the blond has yet to make an appearance. Shikamaru, who was sitting on his left, was entranced with the smoke from his cigarette while his best friend Chouji was busy wolfing down the food on the table. The Hyuuga heiress on the far end was enjoying a nice conversation with Tenten on the copy-nin's right and Neji was in the buffet table, picking up food for his cousin and girlfriend.

Kakashi grinned. Perfect. No sign of Konoha's annoying green beast.

"Nee, Sensei. You're not planning to read that offending book here, are you? That's rude, you know."

The masked jounin sighed and lifted his gaze, smiling sheepishly. The female member of Team 7 regarded him with cool green eyes. "I was just checking if I placed the bookmark correctly."

Sakura plopped down beside him and lifted an eyebrow questioningly. "Really? If Gai-sensei saw you, he would probably challenge you into something outrageous, saying that you were spoiling his favorite student's party."

Kakashi grunted, his exposed eye crinkling. "Seriously, that guy needs therapy."

The med-nin examined their little group and noticed that her errant teammate was nowhere to be seen. "Where's Naruto?" she asked. At the corner of her eyes, she saw Hinata perked up.

"Aren't you with him?" her sensei asked in return. "You know, there's this long-standing rumor that he wouldn't go unless you go…" And then he eyed her knowingly, chuckling. "And vice versa."

Sakura stole a glance at the shy Hyuuga and saw her avert her gaze the moment their eyes met. "Whoever said that, obviously, have nothing else to do. I mean, who would care about something as mundane as me and Naruto going to a party together?"

"Sai did," Kakashi simply replied. "You know, he could be _more_ observant when he wanted to."

"Oh, please…" The pink-haired kunoichi rolled her eyes dramatically. "That blockhead's observations were false. How could he call me ugly and Ino Ms. Lovely? There was something definitely wrong with his eyes."

"And do you have a problem with that?" Ino suddenly retorted from Sakura's back.

"Hey piggy, what took you so long?" Sakura asked as the blonde took a seat beside her.

"I was about to greet Lee but I was stalled by a very drunk Genma-san," she replied with mild irritation. "By the way, forehead, if you were looking for Naruto, I saw him with the others. He was competing with Konohamaru for the title of _the_ _biggest pervert in town_."

"What?!" Sakura exclaimed, bolting out of her chair. "That _baka_! I told him not to use that blasted _jutsu_…"

Ino laughed with amusement as she watched her friend's retreating figure.

"Hey, Ino. Looking good," Kakashi greeted, eyeing her appreciatively. "Did you dress up especially for _someone_ tonight?"

Color rose to the blonde's cheeks as she tried to look anywhere else aside from the copy-nin. "Er, no. But, thanks for the compliment Kakashi-sensei." She then noticed Shikamaru staring at her with a baffled expression, a lit cigarette stuck in his mouth and puffing like a chimney. "How many times do I have to tell you to quit smoking?!" she bellowed, glaring at him. To her annoyance, her lazy teammate just shrugged his shoulders and ignored her.

Kakashi shook his head disapprovingly. "That's the problem with you two. You mother your teammates too much."

"We only do that because we don't want them cause embarrassment to us," Ino retorted with sarcasm.

"Because they can pretty much do it by themselves," Chouji interjected with a mild laugh, pausing from eating a _dango_.

"Shut up, Chouji, if you know what's good for you," the blonde snapped with a glare.

Kakashi chuckled. "Well, guys. I'm gonna walk off a bit and mingle with my own crowd." And then he stood up and strode towards the older jounins.

"I bet he's just going to read _that_ book," Tenten said with amusement as soon as the masked ninja was out of hearing range. "He's been on a look-out for Gai-sensei ever since he got here."

Ino rolled her eyes. "What's with the guy and the Icha Icha series anyway? I've read that book a couple of times and I've yet to find enjoyment from it." She then turned at Hinata who was just listening quietly along with her cousin. "Aren't your two teammates back yet? It's been so long…"

"Yeah," the weapons mistress agreed. "What kind of mission was it, anyway?"

Hinata gave them a reassuring smile. "I've talked to Shizune-san a few days before; she said they had received word from them just recently. I just hope they're all right."

"Of course, they are," Shikamaru said with a smirk. "Those two have one hell of a survival instinct."

A few seconds later, Sakura was back, dragging her teammate by the ear. The med-nin took her previous seat while Naruto sat between Hinata and Tenten, seeing that it was the only space available since Sakura wouldn't allow him to sit beside her as punishment.

"You know, the village's more peaceful when Kiba's not around," Chouji said with a sly grin. "It's like when Naruto went out to train with Jiraiya-sama a few years back."

"Hey, what do you mean by that?" Naruto shot back, fingering his numb ear. He then noticed Hinata who was fidgeting beside him. "Are you okay? You look… red."

Neji cleared his throat loudly, trying to steer the blond's attention away from his squirming cousin. "So, Naruto… how did you come up with your _interesting_ jutsu?" Suddenly, the stoic Hyuuga jounin found himself under the scrutiny of seven pairs of astonished and amused eyes. "What?"

"Seriously?" Naruto asked, one brow raised.

"Well, I…"

"Hey, I didn't know you were into those things," Tenten teased, poking his ribs.

Neji face faulted. "I was just—"

The strains of a popular slow song suddenly drifted into the air as ninjas around them started to pair off and head to the dance floor. Tenten stood up and coaxed her boyfriend to do the same.

"Come on, darling. Let's dance," she whispered to his ear as she lead him away.

Naruto was mentally debating with himself whether to ask Sakura to dance when he saw her and Ino exchanging meaningful glances. The blonde kunoichi then stood up and walked over to Shikamaru.

"Do me a favor, Shikamaru, let's dance. I need to tell you something," Ino said and Naruto swore he heard the slight shaking in her voice.

"Tell me what?" the lazy ninja asked incredulously. "Why do we have to dance?"

Ino rolled her eyes and all but dragged her teammate towards the dance floor.

"I knew Ino was planning something like this," Chouji remarked as he watched his retreating teammates approvingly. "Let's see how Shika reacts."

Sakura let out a deep sigh and buried her face on her arms. "Shikamaru better react favorably or else I'm going to strangle him until he cry for mercy. You have no idea what Ino had put me through when we were choosing for _the _right dress for this party."

"You've got to be kidding me!" Naruto suddenly blurt out. "Don't tell me Ino was planning to _confess_ to… Shikamaru?!"

Sakura shot him a dubious look. "So what's the problem with that?"

"Well," the blond drawled out, rubbing the back of his head. "I never thought that Ino—"

Chouji chuckled. "You know, Naruto. You are amazingly dense. You wouldn't know what was going around you unless someone explained it to you. Heck, you wouldn't even know that the girl sitting right next to you has feelings for you unless she told you herself!"

Naruto raised a brow and glanced at the female kunoichis on his both sides. Since Tenten and Neji went to dance, he was now sitting between Hinata _and_ Sakura. The med-nin elbowed the laughing huge shinobi while Hinata was desperately trying to disappear on her seat.

Naruto huffed indignantly. "I'm not dense."

"Whatever, man." Chouji replied and took a sip on his drinks. "Anyway, what happened to your _apprentice_?

"Apprentice?" the _jinchuuriki_ asked, scratching his head. "You mean Konohamaru? He's out there somewhere, probably _transformed_ into a girl." And then he grinned.

Sakura rolled her eyes. "I can't believe you used _oiroke no jutsu_ in front of all these people," she admonished. "You're lucky Lee-san didn't get offended."

"_Gejimayu_ was there, Sakura-chan," the blond replied with a chuckle. "He was _one_ of the judges." His head suddenly fell forward when Sakura's fist connected with the back of his skull. "Ow, what was that for?" he winced, pouting.

"Pervert."

Hinata eyed the blond _jinchuuriki_ worriedly as Naruto rubbed his sore head with a mild snicker. Idly, she wondered what his reaction would be if she asked him to dance. Would he be angry? Would he turn her down? More importantly, could she muster the courage to ask him at all? Sighing, she lowered her gaze to the hands on her lap.

"_If you wouldn't start chasing after your dreams now, you wouldn't be able to catch up with it in the near future,"_ she remembered Kiba saying to her sometime ago. How she wished she could be like other normal kunoichi, able to convey their feelings to their loved ones easily. If only she could be brave like Tenten, or bold like Ino…

Hinata stole another glance at the blond beside her; so near and yet oh so far. How badly she wanted to close the chasm between them, shake him desperately and tell him not to look further because the one who loved him so was right in front of him all along. Then, her gaze traveled past Naruto and settled on the pink-haired medic. Sakura may not show it but one could definitely see something behind the occasional squabbles and manhandling if you would look hard enough.

At this rate, if she didn't do something, Naruto would be forever out of her reach. Hinata clenched her fist with resolve. If Ino could do it, so could she. She's a Hyuuga after all and members of her clan aren't known for their cowardice.

The shy Hyuuga cleared her throat nervously through the frantic beating of her heart. "Naruto-kun," she called out bravely, softly tugging at the sleeve of his shirt.

Naruto swung his head and Hinata almost fell unconscious when their faces were mere inches apart. "Do you need something, Hinata?" he asked nonchalantly, grinning his usual grin.

"E-eto… uhm, would you… would you," she gasped anxiously and fiddled with her fingers, her face starting to heat up. "Would you like to—"

Hinata's words, however, died on her lips as she passed out suddenly from severe anxiety with a soft thud, her face an extremely dark shade of red.

"Oi, Hinata?" Naruto quirked an eyebrow, checking for the woman's pulse to make sure she wasn't dead or something. Satisfied with the steady beat under his fingertips, the _jinchuuriki_ glanced at her flushed face. "Hinata sure is strange," he mumbled, perplexed, and lifted his gaze as a particular dancing couple suddenly caught his attention. "Hey, Sakura-chan," he then said, tapping his teammate insistently on the arm.

Annoyed, Sakura snapped at him. "What?"

"I think Ino and Shikamaru were having a _very_ bad discussion,' he replied pointing at them.

The med-nin swung her head and the world seemed to move into slow motion. With eyes as wide as her open mouth, she saw Ino's palm made contact with Shikamaru's cheek, jerking the lazy ninja's face sideways from the impact. The boisterous chattering went to a sudden stop as all eyes were on the two members of team 10.

"Bastard!" Sakura heard her best friend say as she saw her push past the Konoha shinobi blocking her way, wiping the tears flowing like a river off her face.

Alarmed, the pink-haired med-nin stood hastily and dragged her unwilling teammate by the collar along. "Come on, Naruto. We've got to follow her!"

* * *

"Come on, Ino. Let's go home. My liver has been cursing me for twenty minutes straight…" 

Naruto cast a sideways glance at his teammate with a worried frown. Contrary to popular belief, Sakura didn't follow all of her master's traits. She might be like Tsunade in all things but the one thing that she lacked was her master's legendary tolerance to alcohol. A few shots of _sake_ would send the med-nin's head spinning and out of control – a situation that the _jinchuuriki_ would rather handle in the afterlife.

"Just a few more rounds, forehead. I just want to drown myself and wallow in my misery…"

Listening to the other blonde's pathetic voice, Naruto rolled his eyes and took a swig with his _sake_. After the commotion at Lee's party, he found himself at the local _izakaya_, albeit reluctantly, babysitting a couple of drunk kunoichi. _Well, not exactly 'drunk,'_ he amended, eyeing the pair with resignation. _The one's dead drunk, that's for sure, while the other is just 'semi-incoherent.'_ In any case, he couldn't really leave them by themselves, now could he?

Idly, Naruto swirled the contents of his glass, wondering whatever happened to the party after they left. They were probably as shocked as he was when they saw a furious Ino bitch-slapped her lazy teammate and stormed off like a hurricane. Shikamaru must've had turned her down none too gently for him to be slapped like that. Women are scary, that's a fact. They punch you in the face when they were pissed off but they slap you real hard when you insult them enough.

He didn't even have the slightest idea that Ino was _that_ attracted to Shikamaru. She was really pretty and there were lots of guys fawning all over her, shinobi and civilians alike. She could probably get any guy she liked. And if she could really learn to shut her mouth for a while, that would be a plus point for her. But Shikamaru? Naruto really didn't see it coming. The guy wasn't that good-looking. He may be smart but he was one lazy ass. He certainly didn't fit Ino's standards. But then again, Sai was a prick and nothing good ever came out of his mouth. And then there was Sasuke… that was saying a lot.

Ino really got one hell of a taste when it comes to men.

"That bastard! How dare he…" And then came a series of broken sobs and snuffles.

The blond _jounin_ shook his head and sighed. For the life of him, he couldn't understand why Sakura had to follow her and take him along. Ino was clearly upset and it would be wise if they would just leave her alone and give her time to herself. Accompanying her to a drinking spree wouldn't exactly help. Plus, they have to leave early for the mission tomorrow.

Ino's snobs turned into a wail and Naruto had to roll his eyes. He didn't mean to be so cold and heartless but, seriously, did she really have to cry that hard?

"It's just Shikamaru," he muttered absentmindedly, swallowing his _sake_. He never meant for his statement to reach the blonde's ears but, unfortunately, it did.

Ino glared at the _jinchuuriki_ and Naruto almost fell from his seat from the tremendous killing intent radiating off her. The blonde kunoichi's nose was puffy and her eyes were so red it would scare the hell out of you. "Don't 'It's just Shikamaru' me, you dumbass—"

"Hey!" he squawked indignantly, rising from his stool.

Sakura placed a hand on his shoulder and push him down, giving him a stern look. "Let it go, Naruto. She's drunk."

"Hnh." He crossed his arms and huffed, squinting his eyes like a fox.

Sakura handed her a hankie and patted her back comfortingly. "Don't mind him, Ino. Just let it all out."

Ino blew her nose and sniffled. "You'd probably do the same and worst if Sakura gave you a downright rejection," she spat, still glowering at the guy past her best friend. "Damn Shikamaru! What an asshole! Who does he think he is? I'll never talk to that bastard again!" And then she started sobbing hysterically.

The pink-haired med-nin shook her head hopelessly and, with a voice that she hoped sounded like Tsunade, she said, "That's it, Ino! We're taking you home!" Sakura stood up abruptly and the room began spinning. Her knees wobbled uncontrollably but Naruto was already behind her, placing a supporting hand under her elbow to steady her. She smiled gratefully as her ever-loyal teammate eased her back to the chair.

Ino grunted and made a face. "You're one damn lucky girl, forehead. Sometimes, I reeeaaaally envy you." She then turned to Naruto and pulled him to sit beside her, sandwiching herself between the two. "Hey Naruto, could you be my boyfriend for a week? I'm sure Sakura wouldn't mind."

"Are you crazy?" he spluttered with mix annoyance and embarrassment, prying her arm loose that the blonde had managed to latch around his.

After almost crying herself to death, Ino was now grinning and sniggering like a lunatic. Probably because of the alcohol that she had drank. She then turned at her best friend and gave her a sly smile. "You wouldn't mind, would you?"

"By all means!" Sakura replied with forced eagerness. "He's not my property, anyway."

Ino giggled. "Better safe than sorry, I always say," she said cheerfully despite her dismal appearance. "I wouldn't want anything to happen to me now that I know how scary you are when you want to be." Then she turned back to Naruto. "You should ask her about that girl from the capital." And then she began to let out a maniacal laugh.

Okay, Ino was starting to creep him out. Were all girls like this when they were drunk?

The blonde kunoichi poured a glass-full of sake and took it down with one long gulp. Her eyes went unfocused for a great deal of time before she regained equanimity. "Poor girl. I've always admired her guts. You know, Naruto, she could probably be your girlfriend right now had forehead didn't – "

The countertop shook alarmingly as Sakura's palm slammed on the shiny wooden surface. "Okay, this party is officially over! Naruto, help me take her home even if we have to drag her kicking and screaming."

"O-okay." Naruto made a move to stand up but Ino was already on her unsteady feet.

"Jeez, you're no fun, Sakura," the blonde said, waving her hands dismissively, as she struggled to keep her eyes open. She smiled and gave Naruto's head a pat. "Hmm, Naruto looks kinda cute, doesn't he?" She began to rock dangerously from side to side and before she could fall flat and smash her head on the floor, the _jinchuuriki_ caught her shoulders and supported her weight with his body.

"You _really_ are drunk." Naruto rolled his eyes. "If you would always act like this, your Shikamaru would never find you anything other than '_troublesome'._ Don't you puke on me, you hear?" he said with exasperation. He tried to steady the kunoichi in his arms and let her stand on her feet but the sound of Ino's even breathing told him she was already fast asleep.

Sakura sighed wearily and rubbed her temples; her head throbbing painfully as if somebody were drilling a hole in it with a jackhammer. "Maybe you should carry her on your back," she suggested helpfully as she watched Naruto struggle to lift her best friend. "You know, piggy-back style?"

The blond rolled his eyes and pouted. "If it were to me, I'd just carry her on my shoulder like a sack of potatoes. Better yet, we should just leave her here." He stared at Sakura's eyes and frowned at the glazed look in them. "Come on, Sakura-chan. Let's go home. You're probably not feeling well."

The pink-haired kunoichi smiled and nodded. She was about to stand up when suddenly, she went still, staring at Naruto like she had never seen him before. Ino was right, she thought with a strange smile. He looked kinda cute, especially with that soft blue eyes of his, reflecting the faint glow of the paper lanterns around them.

"Eh, Sakura-chan?" Naruto knitted his brows, bewildered. Why on earth was she looking at him like that? Was there something on his face? "Something wrong?" he asked.

Sakura blinked her eyes, shaking her head. She then gave him a reassuring smile. "I'm fine. I just saw something… _interesting_."

The blond nodded, albeit doubtful, at his teammate's cryptic reply. After settling their bill, the trio left the bar and headed home. As Sakura had suggested, Naruto carried the unconscious Ino piggy-back style while she held the blond's arm for support. She was really relieved that the boy stayed with them. Who knew what might have happened if she didn't drag Naruto with her. The two of them could probably be wandering around Konoha with all their drunken glory, unable to find their way home, if not for him.

"Naruto?" she called out.

"Yeah?"

Sakura looked up to him and smiled when their eyes met. "Thanks… for being here."

Naruto smiled that trademark grin of his. "It's nothing," he replied quietly.

"And thanks for putting up with Ino."

The blond shook his head. "She's also my friend. I want to show her my support… She may be a little annoying but she's still part of Rookie Nine. She's strong; she _will_ find someone better than Shikamaru." He felt Sakura squeeze his arm gently and rest her head on his shoulder.

After a moment of walking in silence, something that Ino had said earlier popped into Naruto's mind. She did mention something about a girl…

"Sakura-chan? Who's that girl from the capital?" he asked with mild curiosity. Immediately, he felt her tensed up. He was now pretty sure that the med-nin didn't want to discuss the subject.

Sakura let out a nervous laugh and lifted her head off him. "She was just an annoying bitch who belittled my abilities."

The blond raised a brow with amusement. "Really? So, you taught her a lesson, then?"

"Oh, you bet I did." She grinned widely. Well, that wasn't the entire truth. That woman had the gall to insult her and seduce Naruto in front of her, for God's sake! In addition, she called her a hag! Nobody had called her that and got away with it easily. Just ask Sai.

She was a bit surprised that Naruto didn't remember her. He was, in fact, the one who brought her to Konoha. Azumi, the infamous girl from the capital, was a daughter of a lesser aristocrat traveling to River country when they were ambushed by bandits near the village boundary thinking that they had something valuable with them. When the bandits found that they had nothing, they killed all her guards and decided to kill her as well. Naruto, who was returning from his mission, passed by and saved her, bringing her back to the village to treat her injuries.

She was the medic on duty; therefore, it was up to her to treat the girl's wounds. The moment the girl entered her office, Sakura immediately decided that she didn't like her. Okay, maybe it was because of the way she moved like she owned the world or the way she sized her up like she was some incompetent med-nin. But she had got to admit, it was the way she clung to her teammate, making googly eyes at him and acting like some sort of a damsel in distress who needed to be saved that did her in.

"When is Naruto-sama going to visit?" she had asked two days after Naruto had saved her. Honestly, she didn't have to be in the hospital any further but the girl _insisted_ that she needed further treatment. What kind of sane person would want to stay in a hospital?

_Naruto-sama_. Sakura rolled her green eyes with repugnance. "He's busy as of the moment but he will come," she muttered as she drew some scribbles on her chart where the girl's vitals were supposed to be written. The first time she did it, it was by pure accident. The girl was almost _pouncing _on her teammate when she came in the night before and if she didn't happen to carry the clipboard with her, the girl would really have a reason to stay further at the hospital. She later found out that drawing skulls and crossbones was good therapy whenever she was in the presence of the annoying spoiled brat.

"Haruno-san?"

Sakura looked up from the clipboard and gave her a stern look. "Yes?"

"Why do I have the feeling that you don't like me?" Azumi asked with a pout.

_What is there to like, you klutz?_!

"Shut up," the med-nin muttered to her inner self.

"How dare you tell me to shut up?" the girl blurted out with indignation, her eyes wide. "Didn't you know that I'm the daughter of—"

"I'm sorry, I wasn't talking to you," Sakura apologized, sighing. Pretending to check on her vitals, she looked down on her chart and nodded thoughtfully. _Oooh, this skull looked just like her!_ The med-nin hastily cleared her throat to prevent Inner Sakura from invading her thoughts any further. "It says here that your condition is well, no further complications whatsoever. In fact, you can be discharged from the hospital this afternoon. Or better yet, you're free to go now. Isn't that wonderful?" The last statement was added with more sugar than she had intended. She just hoped that she got the hint to start packing and get the hell away from Konoha.

Unfortunately, the girl didn't.

And so after making up an excuse of bed-shortage at the hospital (which was incredibly far-fetched), Azumi was finally released from the hospital much to Sakura's delight. Her triumph, however, was short-lived. She later found out that the girl was staying at a local inn and had appointed Naruto as her unofficial tour guide.

The girl was more persistent than she gave her credit for, the med-nin thought. In that instant, the wheels inside Sakura's head had started turning. She didn't have that big of a forehead for nothing. With a determined look on her face, she headed for the Hokage tower to see her master.

The next day, Naruto (much to his confusion) was sent on another mission and Sakura served as Azumi's tour guide instead.

"This is Konoha's famous training ground where ninjas hone their skills whenever they are off-duty," Sakura said, gesturing over the battered trees and worn-out terrain of Training Ground 3. "We don't usually allow civilians to go here but since you're a member of the nobility from Fire Country's capital, we made an exception."

The girl's frown turned into a deep scowl, boredom painted evidently on her face. "Yeah, I know that. I've been here yesterday. Where's Naruto-kun? He promised that he would take me to the _onsen_."

_Naruto-kun_? The girl was now being less formal and she didn't like the sound of it. "Naruto's currently on a mission but he'll be back soon," she replied, forcing a syrupy smile inspite of herself. She had been trying hard to be nice for the duration of the tour but the girl was making it goddamn difficult. _Shannaro! Just let me wipe off that ugly face of hers!_

Sakura saw her raise a brow. Were all aristocrats like this? Vain, shallow and ill-bred? She had remembered Fuun-_hime_. She was a total pain in the ass when they had first met her a long time ago. Granted, she had lost her family and her country because of her uncle's greed so she had a valid reason to be a bitch.

But this girl… This girl was so vexing it defied all explanation.

"My god, this is sooo boring! What's so special about this place, anyway? This place is just a _dump_." And then she rolled her eyes, smiling mockingly. "It did, however, suit an ugly hag like you…"

The girl's whiny voice had shaken up Sakura from her stupor. Did she just call her a… hag? She gave her head a light shake to rein her temper. "Azumi-san, how old are you?" she asked instead, ignoring the growing irritation inside her.

"I'm 17," she snapped. "Why do you ask?"

"You're just the same age as we are," she said, "and yet you're already bored with your life." Sakura saw her open her mouth to retort something but quickly closed it back. "This place is special because some of us had found our life's purpose here…" She took a step forward, advancing on her like a predator that caught its prey. "We trained our asses _here_ day and night, in this place you called dump, so we wouldn't fail on our missions… so we could live to see another day."

Alarmed, Azumi stepped backwards. "Haruno-san, I—" she stuttered fearfully, but the scary med-nin was undeterred, eyeing her murderously. She then saw Sakura's fist glow with chakra and Azumi, the proud nobleman's daughter, began shaking, her entire life flashing before her.

"That's why, you have no right, whatsoever, to insult this place in my presence. Do you understand?" Sakura asked, her voice calm but dripping with venom. She saw Azumi nod her head. "Good."

But Tsunade's apprentice wasn't done yet. With her chakra-enhanced fist, she hit the ground with full force, shattering it into pieces. Azumi whimpered as she was caught between huge chunks of earth, extremely scared out of her wits. Slowly and deliberately, Sakura walked towards her direction.

"Stay away from _my_ village and the boy is _mine_!" she whispered malevolently as she hoisted her up with her collar from the rubble. "And the next time you call me a hag… You. Will. Die…"

The day after, Naruto came back from his mission, surprised to find the girl gone. Sakura had simply told him that she went home and all was forgotten especially when the pink-haired med-nin asked him to have ramen with her.

When Sakura told Ino of the incident, the blonde was literally rolling on her stomach. Of course, she'd left out the part where she told Azumi that Naruto was _hers_. Ino wouldn't live it down and besides, she only said that to add some flair. It was far from the truth. Naruto was just… Naruto, her loyal and over-protective teammate since forever.

And that was more than a year ago, before Ino asked for a transfer to the Gomon/Jinmon Butai.

"Now, how are we gonna get her inside?"

Naruto's query brought her back to the present as they stood in front of the Yamanaka house. It was past midnight and Ino's parents were probably asleep; it would be a bit embarrassing to disturb them. Sakura glanced upwards and noticed that the blonde's window was open.

"Think you can just throw her through that window?" she asked playfully.

Naruto looked at her as if she had grown another head. "Sakura-chan, you're more wasted than I thought."

The med-nin laughed softly. "I was just kidding." She then went around him and poked Ino on the side. "We're here, Ino-_buta_. Now wake that big ass of yours so we wouldn't have to explain to your parents why you're dead drunk."

The blonde stirred and muttered something incoherent under her breath. Ino opened one sleepy eye. "Hmm, I didn't know your boyfriend smelled good. I've always thought he smelled like ramen."

"Boyfriend?!" Sakura repeated with ire while at the same time Naruto rebuked with a loud, "Ramen?!"

Ino slid down from Naruto, laughing softly. "Hey, thanks for the ride." She let out a big yawn, covering her mouth. Sakura, who was still flushed with embarrassment, merely glared at her. "Now go on, you two lovebirds. I can take it from here. Thanks for the company. Maybe we can do it again next time?"

"I think I'll pass," Naruto grumbled as he took Sakura's hand. "Carrying an unconscious woman in my back isn't my idea of fun." But then, he gave her a kind smile that told her everything's going to be all right. Then he tugged at his teammate. "Come on, Sakura-chan. I'll take you home."

The med-nin nodded and then turned at her. "Night, pig. Take care of yourself."

Ino sighed as she watched Naruto lead her best friend away. She wasn't lying when she told them earlier that she was envious of Sakura sometimes. Naruto was really a good guy and forehead would really be a fool if she would let him slip from her grasp. If only she could have someone like that…

The blonde shook her head and slipped her keys inside. _I'm strong_, she repeated what she had heard from the _jinchuuriki_. _I will find someone better…_

Ino wiped the tears that were threatening to fall as the lock made a clicking sound. She opened the door and stepped into the darkness, repeating a single phrase like a sacred mantra.

_I am strong._

* * *

_Nijuichigatsu Nijuhachinichi_ _(November 28__th)_

Tsunade clucked her tongue disapprovingly at the dark circles around her apprentice's eyes and her pale face. Sakura's back was slouching and her posture was bad. The Hokage was pretty sure that the med-nin would fall over with just a strong gust of wind. Her teammate was no better. Naruto's eyelids were drooping heavily as he tried to stifle another yawn for the nth time.

"As I've told you before, you're going to deliver this package to Harima-san. He lives near the border of Sunagakure and River Country, don't worry, you could find him easily." She reached for the parcel in her drawers and showed it to the two. "I could've sent you earlier but it took me quite some time to acquire this… highly valuable object." She smirked and tapped the box wrapped tightly with white cloth. She then felt Shizune elbowing her as her assistant gestured towards a sleeping Naruto. The Hokage frowned and cleared her throat loudly.

Naruto almost jumped out of his skin and hastily wiped the drool forming at the corner of his mouth. "_Ossu! _You can count on us!"

Tsunade rolled her eyes and rested her chin on her palm. "Kakashi told me you left the party early last night so I couldn't quite understand why the two of you looked like dehydrated zombies."

Sakura opened her mouth to explain their side but her teacher cut her off.

"In any case, I just hope your present condition wouldn't interfere with the mission." The Hokage shifted her gaze to Naruto and sighed. "Oi _gaki_, you've finally received the A-rank mission you've been waiting for. Don't screw it up, okay?"

The blond jounin grinned and gave her a salute.

"Protect the package with all your life," Tsunade continued sternly. She then handed a white parchment and a map to Sakura. "Give that to Harima-san. And if you think you're lost, you can consult that map, though I seriously doubt it since like I've said, his place is easy to find."

"I don't get it,' Naruto mused, bringing a hand to his chin. "If lots of people were after the package, how come this Harima-san was staying in a place where he could easily be found? It doesn't make any sense, does it?"

Sighing, Tsunade eased her back on the chair. "You'll understand when you get there. Now, do you have any questions?"

The two shook their heads.

"Good," the Hokage replied with a smile. "The safety of that package is your primary concern. Make sure you'll deliver it safe and sound."

Naruto gave her an exuberant nod, thrilled and beyond excited since he was finally sent on a mission after a long forced _vacation_. Sakura simply bowed and then ushered her blond companion outside to set off for their journey.

As soon as the doors closed, Tsunade let out the bubbling chuckle that she had been repressing earlier. Perplexed, Shizune raised a brow, staring incredulously at her. Wiping the tears of mirth off her eyes, she opened another drawer and extracted the letter sent to her five days ago. She handed it to her assistant and said, "Read."

The younger med-nin skimmed over the letter and with shaking hands, folded it back as soon as she was finished. With wide eyes, she stood there, gaping at her mistress's smug expression. "You sent Naruto-kun and Sakura to a bogus mission?!"

"Well… you could say that."

Shizune just stared at her, wordlessly.

"Oh, come on. Sakura could use the break," she admonished, resting her cheek on one hand with a pout. "The girl's been working her ass off in the hospital. Plus, I need to think and I couldn't think when some crazy brat was breathing on my neck, demanding for an A-rank mission everyday of the week." Tsunade raised her chin defiantly. "And it wasn't a bogus. It's more like a C-rank pretending to be an A."

"What about the white parcel?" Shizune asked. "What's in it?"

The Hokage grinned mischievously. "It's just something I got from Jiraiya," she replied. "But I wasn't lying when I told them it was _valuable_." And then she snickered.

The younger med-nin sighed with hopelessness and patted Tonton wearily. For a brief moment, Shizune thought if the Fifth Hokage was really going senile but, come to think of it, the legendary med-nin wasn't really that old. Maybe it was just the residual effect of the alcohol she had imbibed all those years ago.

Or, Tsunade, one of Konoha's _Densetsu no Sannin_, was just plain nuts.

"Shizune!"

The younger med-nin perked up as if she was electrocuted. "Hai, Tsunade-sama?"

"I'm going out," she said as she had already made her way towards the door. And then she grinned, "The oldies are going to come over for a chat so… Cover for me, will ya?"

"But it's just seven in the morning! You have tons of unsigned documents and your meeting with the elders wouldn't start until ten!" Shizune all but rolled her eyes when she found herself talking to an empty room. Sighing, she glanced at the pig sitting calmly on top of the Hokage's desk. "I'm afraid we have to use _henge_ again, Tonton."

The pig let out a resigned squeal and eyed the Hokage's assistant with sympathy.

_tsuzuku_

* * *

**Translations:  
**Gejimayu – fuzzy brows  
Tokujo – short for Tokubetsu Jounin (Special Jounin)  
Izakaya – Japanese pub/tavern  
Onsen – hot spring  
Gomon/Jinmon Butai – Torture/Interrogation Unit  
Buta - pig  
Densetsu no sannin – Legendary Three  
Henge – transformation  
Fuun-hime – In case you were wondering who Fuun-hime is, she's from the first movie. If you haven't watched it, please do. I think it was the best Naruto movie there is.

* * *

**Author's Notes: **First of all, I would like to thank Gof22 for your great interest over this story. I'm afraid, though, I won't be able to answer your questions directly since it will give away the plot. Wouldn't it be better if we just sit back and wait for things to unfold? ;D Don't worry, though, your questions will be answered as the story progresses. But for now, patience, my dear.

Sorry, if the last chapter was boring. I just really have to write it. Hope you liked this one. The original sixth chapter was very long I had to revise it (meaning, delete the unimportant parts) and salvage the rest for chapter seven. Coupled with my addiction to video games and catching up with my reading, it really took quite a while for this chapter to come out. The next chapter's (naruto and sakura's '_mission_,' yay!) going to be posted sooner (I hope…).

Till next time!


	8. Chapter 7: Promises

_**Chapter Seven: Promises**_

_Nijuichigatsu Nijuhachinichi (November 28__th)  
__Evening_

"Damn, I'm freezing."

Chuckling, Naruto paused from his task and eyed his pink-haired teammate as she wrapped the thick blanket around her shoulders more tightly. He saw her shoot him an annoyed glance as she shivered slightly, her body huddled up inside the warm sheets. Shaking his head, he edged closer to the fire and poked the smoldering wood to make it burn brightly.

"Better?" he asked, grinning.

"Thank you."

"No problem." He went back to his spot and continued rummaging on his knapsack. After extracting his second helping of instant ramen, Naruto opened the lid, tore out the packet of seasoning with his teeth and carefully poured some hot water that he boiled earlier. He then covered the Styrofoam cup and let it sit for a while.

"Don't you ever get tired of that?"

Naruto swung his head to her direction. "Huh? Get tired of _ramen_? Of course not." And then he smiled. "Want some?"

Sakura shook her head. "No, thanks. I already had an _onigiri_." She saw him shrug his shoulders and then retrieve another Styrofoam cup from his bag. He opened the lid again, and poured some hot water. He walked over to her and offered a steaming cup of what she suspected to be _ramen_. "Naruto, I told you, I don't want any."

"It's not _ramen_," the blond insisted, his face scrunched up with mild irritation. "Take it. It would help you ward off the cold."

With a raised brow, Sakura took his offering and giggled with surprise after getting a whiff of the rich aroma of chocolate. "Hot coco?"

"Damn right, it's hot coco!" He grinned from ear to ear. "_Ramen_ wasn't the only thing in my bag, you know."

The med-nin smiled back. "Bless you," she whispered, taking a sip of the sweet concoction.

"Shiori-neesan gave them to me after I told her I would be out for a mission," Naruto said nonchalantly. "She said it's cold out here so I might need them plus they taste good. So… how was it?"

Sakura almost spat the chocolate to his face after hearing the bosomed beauty's name. "Shiori-san?" Slowly, she cleared her throat. "It's delicious…" She looked at her reflection on the chocolate's surface and frowned. "By the way, you asked her on a date before, right?" She lifted her gaze and saw him give her a strange look. Her scowl deepened. "I'm not jealous or anything!"

Naruto chuckled, rubbing the back of his head. "Of course, you aren't."

She huffed, rolling her eyes. Then, she noticed the corner of his lips curl into a smug smile.

"Why are you smiling like that?"

"Smiling like what?" he asked innocently. "Oh, I almost forgot my food." He went back to his place by the fire and ignored her completely. Tearing off the entire cover, he dug into his _ramen_ following the customary _Itadakimasu_. "I didn't go out with her if that's what you were asking," he said afterwards, wolfing down his dinner. "Just saw her at Ichiraku's while I was going to have lunch."

With warmth spreading on her body, Sakura placed the cup of hot chocolate on the ground and loosed up the blanket around her. "Like I care. Naruto, really, you don't have to explain—"

"She's really nice, you know," the blond continued, a fond smile on his lips. "She's like Shizune-neechan minus the obsession to, er, neatness. Imagine, Shizune-neechan in Baa-chan's body?" And then he laughed. "Her parents were Konoha shinobi who worked as spies for Ero-sennin. Unfortunately, they were discovered and killed so Ero-sennin brought her back to Konoha."

"So you mean the rumor wasn't true?" the med-nin asked offhandedly.

Naruto glanced at her, baffled, his chopsticks hanging halfway to his mouth. "What rumor?"

"Ino told me that Shiori-san is Jiraiya-sama's daughter," she replied with a dismissive wave of a hand.

The _jinchuuriki_ snorted. "That is, by far, the most far-fetched story I have ever heard!" He then started laughing hysterically to his teammate's annoyance. "Ero-sennin is an ugly old fart. Nobody in their right mind would want to mate with him!"

Sakura rolled her eyes. "How could you say that to your master? Don't you ever have at least an ounce of respect for him?"

Naruto ceased his laughter and shook his head. "Try training under him and you will understand." Then he frowned, remembering what the perverted _sennin_ had ordered him to do. "Only someone like him would set up his student just for the sake of a wager with the Hokage."

The med-nin knitted her brows as the blond resumed his eating. "Jiraiya-sama wasn't so bad during his prime. I saw a picture of him with Shishou when they were younger."

The blond gave her a sly grin. "So, you think Ero-sennin is hot, huh?"

Sakura threw a small rock at him and missed, glaring. "I do not!"

Chuckling lightly, Naruto finished his meal with few swallows and started putting away his mess. Pausing from his task, he stole a glance at his beautiful companion and smiled. _Baa-chan could be a heaven-sent sometimes_. He then reminded himself to buy some cute souvenir for the Godaime Hokage.

"It's been a while, ne?" he whispered after a moment of silence, the cool early winter breeze ruffling his hair.

Smiling softly, she nodded. "Yeah. It's been so long since we were sent on a mission together..."

Sighing, Naruto gazed at the burning logs between them and grinned. "Hey, do you remember why Kakashi-sensei always slept on tree branches when we were still genin?"

Sakura giggled at the memory. "Yeah, it was because you put a dead lizard on his hair while he was sleeping. I had never seen him sleep on the ground ever since."

The blond snickered. "That's the reason why I don't want to be a jounin instructor. Who knows, I might have a student who's more awful than me."

"You mean, like Hinata's students?"

Naruto shuddered involuntarily.

The kunoichi raised a brow. "You know, you are just exaggerating. Those kids are really cute and nice."

"Cute and nice my ass!"

Sakura stifled a laugh, her gaze falling on the dancing flames. "Anyway, I really missed those days when we were camping out like this. Don't get me wrong, I like my job at the hospital. But sometimes it's great to be outdoors. Ever since we blew up Akatsuki into smithereens and you became ANBU, I rarely had the chance to go outside the village..."

The blond let out a noncommittal grunt and looked up to the twinkling stars and exceptionally bright round moon above. "Sakura-chan… do you miss _him_?"

Stunned, Sakura lifted her eyes and met his searching blue ones. She knew already who '_him'_ was. "Naruto…"

"I know you're thinking of him," he started, a bit hesitant, as he smiled sadly. "I am, too. That's why… somehow I would find a way to fulfill my promise to you."

She shook her head stubbornly. "Naruto, you don't have to. I have already accepted the fact that he wouldn't come back to us. You're an ANBU and I know there's a—"

"It's a blue moon tonight, Sakura-chan," he said and then he pointed at the sky, smiling. "Make a wish. It will come true."

* * *

The full moon shone brightly as Jiraiya stared outside the window, his pipe clamped between his teeth. Exhaling, the toad hermit gazed at the smoky vapor as it danced and swirled before disappearing into thin air. 

"That boy probably wanted me dead by now," he said, grinning, as he reached for the bottle of _sake_ on the table. The legendary shinobi poured some liquid on his glass and noticed the glimmering round object in the sky. "A blue moon, huh?"

"_What do you wish for, hime?"_

Jiraiya swallowed the bittersweet concoction with one gulp, leaving a burning trail down his throat. The toad _sennin_ started pouring another cup when a light knock on the _shouji_ screen door caught his attention. A faint shadow of a woman stood behind the entryway and Jiraiya put down the _sake_ bottle and called her forth to enter.

A strikingly beautiful young woman stepped inside and the toad _sennin_ had to smirk at the elaborate clothing and make-up. "No matter how many times I set my eyes on you, you never failed to take my breath away," he said appreciatively as he watched her kneel on the soft cushion, tucking the hem of her kimono beneath her shins.

The geisha smiled, demurely hiding her lips behind her wide sleeves. "Thank you, Jiraiya-sama. You look good as well," she replied, bowing with utmost reverence. "I do apologize for my tardiness."

"It's okay." He waved his hand dismissively. "You don't have to be that formal with me. So… do you have what I need?"

"Of course."

Jiraiya watched with mild interest as she reached around her _obi_ and tugged at something underneath. For a moment, the perverted hermit had visualized the stunning geisha removing her troublesome clothing bit by bit, beckoning him to come closer with a seductive smile. But before his dirty thoughts could progress any further, Natsumiyo was handling him some scrolls and eyeing him speculatively. The legendary ninja cleared his throat with a tinge of embarrassment and took the rolls of paper offered to him.

"That's all I could extract from the daimyo of _Tsuchi no Kuni_," she said apologetically.

"This would do just fine, Natsu-chan." He gave her a reassuring smile before unfurling a scroll and skimming over its contents.

The geisha paused for a moment, recalling something she just heard earlier this morning. "It seemed that there was some kind of activity in the woods just recently. According to the local woodcutter, the trees in the forest were smashed and most of the rocks were pulverized, as if a huge battle had taken place."

The toad _sennin_ lifted his gaze. "A battle you say?" The white-haired shinobi scratched his chin. _This was probably the work of that Uchiha brat and the root ANBU_.

She continued. "Two weeks ago, a traveler told me that he saw a man with 'strange red eyes' on his way here. I remembered that you were asking before about the same guy with red eyes, about the age of 17 or so."

Jiraiya nodded. "Yes I was. We had already located him and the disturbance in the woods was probably due to him," he replied flippantly, resuming his readings.

"I see…" she replied thoughtfully. "But this one's… older."

Alarmed, the perverted hermit's gaze was bewildered. Could it be that his ears were deceiving him? "Older?"

To his consternation, the lovely geisha nodded. Jiraiya settled the scrolls on the floor, trying to dismiss the unsettling feeling that had suddenly crept over him. Maybe this traveler was just mistaken, yes, he had to be. His scouts had reported that they saw the fall of the older Uchiha, by the hands of his _ototo_.

Convincing himself finally that he was merely overreacting, Jiraiya took a deep breath and calmed himself. His scouts were never wrong; he could bet his life on it. Natsumiyo's next words, however, shattered his confidence and confirmed any lingering doubts that he was harboring.

"…And he was wearing a black cloak with red cloud imprints."

* * *

Sakura stared, dumbfounded, at the blond across her. What on earth was he talking about? A blue what? 

"Naruto, I don't understand…"

"A blue moon is the second full moon of the month," he began, swinging his hand for emphasis. "You know, rounder, brighter, more beautiful than a normal full moon and all that jazz?" The pink-haired med-nin merely gaped at him. He continued. "A legend said that your wish will come true if you wish on a blue moon."

Sakura opened and closed her mouth a couple of times, trying to say something. No words, however, came.

The blond offered a kind smile. "Whatever it is that you're going to wish for, Sakura-chan, I wish it would come true. So now it is a double wish. There's a 200 percent chance of fulfillment."

The med-nin clutched the edge of the blanket draped around her tighter, her knuckles turning white. Why was Naruto being so stupid? He was talking about something significant one time and then he would suddenly switch into nonsense.

She knew about the ANBU S-rank mission to assassinate the Uchihas. She also knew of the pain and pressure it gave to Naruto, and how it made a rift between him and the Godaime Hokage a few months prior. That's why, before any damages could be made, before any lives could be lost, she was going to relieve him of that promise.

"Stop it, Naruto," she whispered fiercely. "Stop it."

"Sakura-chan…"

"Your wish is to become Hokage, right? That's why… that's why you don't have to fulfill that promise." She paused and looked at him earnestly. "I don't want you to abandon your dreams just because of me. I swear, I wouldn't be able to forgive myself if... if anything happened to you." She wrapped the blanket around her tightly, averting her gaze.

Naruto sighed. "Sakura-chan, a promise is a promise. I would bring Sasuke back; I told you that, didn't I? Backing down on my words is not my way of a ninja." Slowly, he walked over and crouched down to her eye level, placing a reassuring hand on her shoulder. "If, for some reason, I wouldn't be able to fulfill that promise, I give you my word that I'd do anything within my power to make you happy." He then gave her a wide grin. "How's that sound, huh?"

"Naruto…"

"Sakura-chan, really…" He chuckled and felt her gasp as he brushed off the tears forming at the corner of her eyes. "You're becoming more and more of a crybaby these days."

Sakura laughed softly and swatted his hand. "_Baka._ If you call me a crybaby next time, I swear you will be dead."

"Okay, I get it." The blond jounin laughed, pulling her to stand up. "I know you're worried about Sasuke, Sakura-chan. Our recent midnight trips proved it. You couldn't sleep because you were thinking of him," he whispered quietly as he held her cold and clammy hands. "Even if he didn't want to come back, even if he didn't want to be with us anymore, I swear I will bring him back… for you."

The med-nin squeezed his hand back, and let out a deep breath, averting her gaze to the stars winking above them in the clear night sky. "You really don't have to promise me anything, Naruto… Staying close to me would be enough." Slowly, she met his eyes and saw herself reflected in them.

Naruto smiled self-consciously, warmth spreading all over him. "Sakura-chan, I…" He wracked his brain to try and find the right words that would exactly convey the jumbled emotions inside him.

Sakura let his hand go and stepped away from him, eyeing the glimmering moon overhead. "Where did you learn about that cheesy legend? I didn't know you believe in such childish things," she said, her tone teasing.

The _jinchuuriki_ made a grumbling sound at the back of his throat. "It wasn't childish," he retorted. "It was really effective, mind you. When Ero-sennin and I were traveling, he told me to make a wish. I didn't believe him at first so I just played along." He crossed his arms on his chest and raised his chin stubbornly.

The kunoichi raised a brow. "Oh really?"

"Ha, it actually came true! My wish was to be taller than you when I return to Konoha and it happened. I was taller than you when I came home!" Naruto grinned from ear to ear, his blue eyes mocking.

"Fine, you're taller than me. Sheesh." Sakura rolled her eyes. "Are you really sure that it would come true?"

He raised his hand as if to make an oath. "Positive," the blond replied. "And I told you I would wish for your wish to come true, remember? A double wish." He brought a hand to his chin, knitting his golden brows. "Hey, did you count how many times I said the word 'wish'?"

Silence.

Naruto tilted his head, puzzled by his teammate's sudden stillness. "Sakura-chan?"

And then he heard it.

"I wish Sasuke-kun would come home…"

He felt his heart skip, confused by the unexpected swirl of emotions, unknown and yet familiar. Bravely, he met her sad verdant gaze and cursed himself for even hoping. He shouldn't be surprised with her words since part of him knew that no matter how hard he tried, he could never replace _him_ in her heart. He alone could never be enough.

Sure, Sakura made that wish because of his allusion and he also wanted for his childhood friend to come home. But, in all honesty, he wasn't really happy about it.

For once in his life, Naruto wished that he could take his words back.

* * *

_Juichigatsu Sanjunichi (November 30__th)_

"You've got to be kidding me!"

Naruto checked the map on his hands for the third time and stared back at the huge sign on top of the wooden entryway. Furrowing his brows, he turned at his traveling companion who was as confused as he was.

"Are you sure we made the right turn at the last intersection?" he asked accusingly.

Sakura snatched the map from him, rolled it, and smacked him on the head. "_Baka_! Are you telling me that I can't read maps?"

"You were the one who said that, not me." The blond rubbed his sore head and eyed the sign wearily. "Maybe that map was a bit outdated."

The med-nin unrolled the crumpled paper, studying it. "It says here that at the last intersection, where the forest ends and the desert sand begin, we should turn right because the straight path leads to Suna. We just did that, didn't we?"

Naruto nodded, crossing his arms on his chest.

"Then it's pretty much a straight course from there," she muttered to herself thinking. She then glanced at the blond jounin and saw him with an agitated frown. "What's the matter?"

"Could it be that Baa-chan sent us on a wild goose chase just to… get rid of me?"

Sakura snorted. "Don't be absurd. Tsunade-shishou would never do that." Or would she? The med-nin shook her head and leveled the _jinchuuriki_ with a stern glare. Her teacher could be a whacko sometimes but she wasn't _that_ crazy to send out two of the best ninjas of the village on a whim. "Naruto, just because we are standing in front of a r_yokan_ doesn't necessarily mean that Hokage-sama has given us a fake mission. See, Harima-san is staying at an inn so Shishou was right when she told us that we can easily find him."

"But Sakura-chan…" The scowl on his face deepened and the pink-haired kunoichi was pretty sure that Naruto would go into Kyuubi mode. "Didn't she also tell us that many people were after this package? Then how come we got here without as much as a scratch? Was this an A-rank mission supposed to be?"

Okay, good point.

"I'm going to opened that package and see what's inside!" Naruto declared as he removed his bag from his back and began opening it.

Rolling her eyes, Sakura stole the bag from him with one flick of a wrist. "Don't be stupid. Come on, we better go inside and check the front desk for our client." She threw Naruto his things and stepped inside.

The blond scratched his head, sighing. "Still, something is fishy about this," he muttered as he followed his teammate with reluctance.

"_Irasshaimase!_"

Naruto surveyed his surroundings as the receptionist on the front desk bowed and welcomed them. The place was big but had some warm and cozy feel to it.

"_Konnichiwa_. We're looking for a certain Harima-san," Sakura began, also eyeing her surroundings for signs of any potential threat. "Is somebody with that name has checked in here?"

The receptionist furrowed her brows with confusion. "Could you be referring to Harima-sama, the owner of this inn?"

"Ah! You must be the two ninjas that Tsunade-_hime_ sent!"

The duo swung their heads to the owner of the boisterous voice. Standing on the wooden deck was a bear of a man, about the height of Jiraiya, with a funny moustache and thick graying hair arranged in the usual top knot. Naruto felt the corner of his mouth twitch. He had never seen someone who resembled his perverted teacher so much and yet looked quite different altogether.

"You must be Haruno Sakura-chan," he said as he walked over to them and shook her hand. Then he turned at the blond jounin. "And you, Uzumaki Naruto-kun." Then he rumpled the _jinchuuriki's_ hair playfully. "Welcome to my beautiful inn. I hope you will find the accommodations to your liking."

"Accommodations?" Naruto cried out with disbelief, bewildered. "We're not here to have some vacation. We're here on a mission!" He opened his bag, retrieved the cloth-covered box and thrust it older man. "Here. We were sent here to deliver this important package to you."

Harima-san raised a brow. "That Tsunade…" He chuckled. "She didn't have to send me a gift…"

Gift? Sakura knitted her brows. Okay, the situation was getting more bizarre by the moment.

"Excuse me, Sir, but we—"

The innkeeper glanced at her questioningly. "You are aware that your Shishou received a letter from me, correct?"

Sakura nodded. "A letter requesting for the service of Konoha ninjas."

Harima's grin widened. "I see… You must be tired and hungry from your long journey. Kindly proceed to that door across the hall, we will be serving your lunch shortly." He paused, tapping his chin. "You can leave your bags at the counter. We'll just bring them to your room." He then turned his back and started walking away as the two shinobi exchanged confused glances.

"Did he just say _room_? As in, singular?" Naruto asked, staring at the med-nin with a somewhat devious smile.

Sakura glared at him. "Keep on dreaming, pervert. I'll make sure we have separate ones." She saw him pout and the pink-haired kunoichi had to roll her eyes.

"Hey, I was just trying to make you laugh," he said lightly as he removed his bag from his back. "I told you, Sakura-chan. Something is really weird with this mission."

"I'm going to have a talk with Shishou about this when we get back." She placed her own sack right next to Naruto's on the wooden counter and then they headed to the room across the hall. "Did you see Harima-san's odd expression earlier?"

The blond crossed his arms on his chest and nodded, their silent footfalls making a soft rhythmic sound on the polished floor. "Yeah, the guy's acting all kinds of weird. He looked just like Ero-sennin who just discovered an _onsen_ full of naked ladies."

Standing before a _shouji_ screen door, Sakura slid it open, the scent of a sumptuous feast suddenly invading her nostrils, and she was sure she heard her stomach grumble.

"Wow, I've never seen so much food since Chouji's birthday. And so fast," Naruto mumbled as he eyed the different assortment of plates laden with all kinds of cooked fish, meat, vegetable and rice on the low table hungrily. "Too bad there's no _ramen_."

The med-nin rolled her eyes. "Don't you ever get tired of noodles and broth?"

"Nope, I'm a hundred percent loyalist."

Raising a brow, Harima-san saw them still standing outside the dining room as he materialized in a corner. "What are you standing there for? Come on, don't be shy!" He literally pushed the two shinobi inside and ordered them to sit.

"Are we going to eat all these?" Sakura asked as she watched the older man sat opposite them.

The innkeeper grinned. "Why? Are you on a diet?"

"Not really."

"Good," he replied. "It's not really nice to starve yourself just so you can look good." He then eyed the blond jounin who was staring back at him curiously. "You want some _ramen_, boy? I could ask the chef to make one for you."

Naruto's face lit up. "Really? Ouch!" He gave his teammate a rueful glance after her elbow made contact with his side. "That won't be necessary, sir."

Harima chuckled. "You guys really reminded me of Tsunade and that pervert." He motioned to them to start eating as he dug on his plate. "Too bad they couldn't come so _Hime_ told me she would be sending you two in their stead. I think those two would really enjoy this vacation."

The blond almost felt his jaw dropping on the table. "_Nani_?!"

Sakura was dumbstruck, her mouth opening and closing like that of a goldfish.

The Hokage's friend, enjoying the duo's reaction, kept smiling impishly to himself. "Ah, I almost forgot." He reached for a folded note under his sleeve and handed it to Naruto who was, surprisingly, the more coherent of the two. "That's a letter from your Hokage. I think it was some kind of an order or something."

The _jinchuuriki_ looked down to the paper on his hand then back to the older man.

Harima merely raised a brow. "You better read it. I'm sure it's something important."

Slowly, Naruto unfolded the letter and read:

_Naruto,_

_By now, I am sure that you are aware of the true nature of your 'mission.' Be grateful because you have just been sent to an all-expense paid 'A-rank' vacation and I don't want to hear you complaining when you get back. Aren't you glad that you have some time alone with 'your' Sakura-chan? Be nice and don't try to blow things up because I know you are just itching to do that right now._

The blond gritted his teeth as he stared at the Hokage's seal stamped at the bottom of the paper. But come to think of it, Baa-chan was right. He did have Sakura all to himself! He was pretty sure there was an outdoor _ofuro_ somewhere in this inn and maybe… maybe…

An image of his luscious teammate covered only with the hazy steam from the bath popped into his brain.

He shook his head vigorously, crumpling the paper into a ball with his hand. He was a bit thankful that the insane Hokage was lending a help to his miserable love life but he just couldn't accept the fact that the old hag had just duped him.

"How long are we going to stay here?" he asked a moment later, loosening up his collar as Sakura's mental image kept on playing over and over in his head. God, if she only knew that his mind was completely in the gutter, he was sure he wouldn't make it back to Konoha alive.

"It depends on how you long you wanted to stay," Harima-san replied after chewing and swallowing his food. "But according to Tsunade, I have to make sure you stay for at least two days." He then noticed that they still weren't eating. "You better eat up your food, boy. It's getting cold."

"Did… Shishou really _force_ us to have a vacation?"

The innkeeper swung his head to the pink-haired med-nin and smiled reassuringly. "Come on, it wasn't that bad," he said. "Tsunade told me that you were quite the workaholic and could use some break. This is a good time for you to relax and regain some energy." He then noticed the balled paper on Naruto's hand. "There's also a letter for you, I gave it to _blondie_."

Sakura stared at the crumpled paper on her teammate's hand and then bonked him on the head. She snatched the letter from the blond. "Baka! Why did you do that? Now it's all rumpled and wrinkled." After glaring daggers at her errant teammate, she scanned the Hokage's note and her face immediately withered. "I'm sorry, Harima-san. We had caused you some trouble."

The older man waved his hand dismissively. "Oh no, it's no trouble at all. You see, Tsunade-_hime_ owes me—"

The med-nin winced. That was something she heard fairly frequently whenever she met someone outside the village who knew her teacher.

"—and as payment, she promised me that she and Jiraiya would help me out with the inn's marketing strategies… But that was a long time ago, when we were about your age." He grinned, having lost in his memories for a while. "So don't worry about causing trouble for me, young lady. This isn't exactly a vacation. The two of you will test the inn's facilities and I'm going to use your feedback as reference for future improvements."

Sakura nodded thoughtfully as Naruto slowly began to eat his lunch.

"So this wasn't really an A-rank mission," the blond muttered glumly. "But Baa-chan said that the thing inside that box we gave you was something really…" He paused, recalling the exact word that the Hokage used. "Invaluable."

The innkeeper quirked an eyebrow. "This?" He retrieved the box beside him and carefully unwrapped it. A wide, highly amused grin broke out of his face as soon as he saw the thick leather-bound tome inside. "Well, what do we have here?" Chuckling, he opened to the first page and gasped aloud upon reading the book's title neatly written by hand in bold ink.

"Sakura-chan, tell me this isn't happening…" Naruto whispered in a small, wilting voice as he eyed the yellowed pages of the age-old manuscript. He prayed to all gods present that his perverted teacher's handwriting on the cover was just his imagination.

"Ah, this is _hentai_'s unpublished book! This is invaluable indeed!"

Rubbing her temples wearily, Sakura sighed as she watched their client coo and kiss the toad hermit's book like a lunatic. "It seemed that we had been protecting Jiraiya-sama's unpublished _Icha Icha Paradise_."

Naruto's scream was heard all the way to Konoha.

* * *

The sky was bleeding red as the sun had started to set on the horizon. The thick smell of blood permeated the air as one Konoha Root ANBU fell after another, then another. Uchiha Sasuke deactivated his _sharingan_ as he fell back to the muddy ground, clutching the gaping hole on his abdomen, his breathing ragged. His sweat-soaked bangs clung to his face as drops of blood continued to trickle down his body. 

Next to him were the charred remains of the last root ANBU who had ambushed him moments ago.

The unknown shinobi had managed to launch a kunai at him just before the last Uchiha released his _Goukakyuu no Jutsu_. Too drained and exhausted to calculate the path of the sharp steel projectile, he had twisted his body in mid-air to avoid it but he was too slow and too late. The kunai had managed to pierce his lower left torso and there was no more chakra left in his body to perform even the simplest medical ninjutsu. Even the healing abilities of Orochimaru's white snakes couldn't help him now.

"Damn," he breathed out, gritting his teeth. He didn't even have time to recuperate from his fight with his estranged brother and now Konoha ninjas were swarming on him like locusts. Sasuke closed his eyes and felt the faint pulse of chakra around him. They had him surrounded.

A low dark chuckle rumbled within the Uchiha's throat. He opened his eyes and even without his bloodline ability, he could make out the shadowed outline of the remaining shinobi sent out to finish him in the darkening forest. Sasuke smirked. They even had the audacity to make their presence known.

"_Taichou_…" Kenzo, a Root ANBU on his guard a few meters from their target, glanced at his team leader with a hint of impatience.

The ANBU leader raised his hand in a halting manner. "Secure the perimeter. Make sure he won't escape us. We will move as soon as it is dark."

Kenzo nodded, and, along with his other teammates, disappeared to do their superior's instructions.

Alone, the Root ANBU leader watched the Uchiha impassively. The traitor didn't change much from the last time he saw him. Was that two years ago? Three years? He couldn't quite remember. He smiled that usual smile of his.

Ah, he did remember something. He remembered hearing the desperation on his _other_ teammates' voices, urging, pleading with the _sharingan_-user to come back, to come home with them. It was pointless at that time because the avenger hadn't fulfilled his dream. But now... now, that his brother was dead, his life-long dream fulfilled…

"_Gomen ne_, Sasuke-_kun_. You can't come back anymore. It's too late."

The remaining sliver of light disappeared as the sun had set completely on the horizon. He cast one last glance at the dark purple sky as he tugged down his mask to cover that fake smile of his…

**_tsuzuku_**

* * *

**Translations:**

Shouji – paper screen sliding door  
Hime – princess  
Tsuchi no Kuni – Earth Country  
Ototo – younger brother  
Ryokan – Japanese-style inn  
Irasshaimase – welcome  
Onsen – hot spring  
Ofuro – bath  
Goukakyuu no Jutsu – Grand Fireball Technique  
Taichou – Captain

* * *

**Author's Notes: **Gomen! I promised last time that I will post this sooner but I didn't. Sorry. Anyway, thank you guys for the wonderful reviews. They really kept me inspired. 

I hope you enjoy this one.

Till next time.


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